



j.A.JOSEPhl 

















INSTITUTIONAL HISTORY 



UNITED STATES 



BY 



J. A. JOSEPH 

u 

PRESIDENT OF CENTRAL NORMAL COLLEGE 



">*»ic 



DANVILLE, INDIANA 
INDIANA PUBLISHING COMPANY 

1897 



ijt *b 

rigdon's 

Grammar of the English Sentence 90 c. 

English Grammar for the Common School . . . . 60 c. 

English Grammar for Beginners 40 c. 

Methods in Arithmetic 25 c. 

Infinitives and Participles 25 c. 

Outline of Psychology 25 c. 

JOSEPH'S 

Instilulional History of United States $1.50 

Outline of United States History 25 c. 

lind's 

Lessons in Physiology for Public Schools and Colleges $1.25 

Lessons in Physiology for Beginners 60 c. 



^- 



INDIANA PUBLISHING COMPANY, 

DANVILLE, IND. 



Ooi'YiuoiiT, 1S97, 
By JONATHAN UIGDON. 



Novfaoooti }0ifS0 

J. S. Cusliin;; .1; Co. - Berwick & Smith 
Norwood ami Doston Mass. U.S.A. 



DEDICATED 

€a Ha Miiie anti ©au(jf)ter 

WHOSE CRITICISMS AND SUGGESTIONS 

HAVE BEEN MOST HELPFUL TO ME IN THIS WORK, AND 

WHOSE LIVES ARE A CONSTANT INSPIRATION 

IN ALL MY EFFORTS 



PREFACE. 

I HAVE studied long and hard to write this preface. So far I 
have thought of nothing I wanted to say. Of course this book fills 
a " long-felt want," and will " answer the needs of many people." 
I sincerely hope so. Its mistakes are all my own, and its imperfec- 
tions are not without a parentage. If you, reader, get as much 
good from the book in reading it as I have received from writing it, 
you will feel amply repaid. Five years of labor on its thought and 
style have taught me some valuable lessons. I hope my readers will 
not wish that those years had taught me one more, — not to have 
published the result of my labor. I cannot do better than mention 
the names of the books used in preparing the Institutional His- 
tory, and then allow my friends to write its preface. The book is 
a departure in history writing, but I hope a useful one. 

J. A. JOSEPH, 

President Central Normal College. 
Danville, Ind., March, 1897. 



LIST OF BOOKS USED IN THE PREPAEATION 
OF THIS WOEK. 

Rogers : Constitutional History as seen in American Law. G. P. Putnam's 

Sons, New York. 
Stevens : Sources of the Constitution of United States. Macmillan & Co., 

New York. 
Brown : Dictionary of American Politics. A. L. Burt, New York. 
Schaff: Church and State. Scribner's Sons, New York. 
Payne : History of America. Macmillan & Co., New York. 
Bryce : American Commonwealth. Charles H. Seyel & Co., Chicago. 
Bancroft : History of the Constitution. D. Appleton & Co., New York. 
Larrabee: The Railroad Question. Schulte Publishing Co., Chicago. 

V 



vi LIST OF BOOKS USED. 

Hubert, Jr. : Inventors. Scribner's Sons, New York. 

Williams : History of the Negro Race in America. Putnam's Sons, New 
York. 

Dunbar: Currency, Finance, and Banking. Ginn & Co., Boston. 

Justin Winsor : Narrative and Critical History of America. Houghton, 
Mifflin & Co., New York. 

Hinsdale : How to Study and Teach History. D. Appleton & Co., New 
York. 

Scott : Development of Constitutional Liberty. Putnam's Sons, New York. 

Von Halle : Trusts. Macmillan & Co., New York. 

Prescott : Conquest of Mexico. John W. Lovell Co., New York. 

Prescott : Conquest of Peru. John W. Lovell Co., New York. 

Davidson: Reference History of the United States. Ginn & Co., Boston. 

Taussig : Tariff History of the United States. Putnam's Sons, New York. 

Harrison: The Meaning of History. Macmillan & Co., New York. 

Fiske : Critical Period of American History. Houghton, Mifflin & Co., 
New York. 

Furber : Which? Protection or Free Ti-ade. Park Publishing Co., Hart- 
ford, Conn. 

Century Company : Cheap Money. Century Co., New York. 

Parkman : Montcalm and Wolfe. Little, Brown & Co., Boston. 

Lodge : Short History of English Colonies. Harper & Brothers, New York. 

De Tocqueville : Democracy in America. John AUyn, Boston. 

FisKE : Beginnings of New England. Houghton, Mifflin & Co., New York. 

NicoLiNi : History of Jesuits. College Book Store, Danville, Ind. 

FiSKE : American Political Ideas. Harper & Brothers, New York. 

Parkman : The Jesuits in America. Little, Brown & Co., Boston. 

Hodgin: Indiana and the Nation. D. C. Heath & Co., Chicago. 

Cochrane : Wonders of Modern Mechanism. J. B. Lippincott, Philadel- 
phia. 

Gilman: History of American People. Estes & Lauriat, Boston. 

Norman : AVorld's Metal and Monetary Systems. G. P. Putnam's Sons, 
New York. 

Campbell : The Puritan in England, Holland, and America. Harper & 
Brothers, New York. 

Thompson : Personal Recollections of Sixteen Presidents. Bowen-Merrill 
Co., Indianapolis. 

Columbia College : Studies in History, Economics, and Law. Columbia 
College, New York. 

Bancroft : History of United States. D. Appleton & Co., New York. 

Rabbeeno : American Commercial Policy. IVLacmillan & Co., New York. 

Rhodes : History of United States. Harper & Brothers, New York. 

Parkman: Half-century of Conflict. Little, Brown & Co., Boston. 

Sherwood: History and Theory of Money. J. B. Lippincott, Philadelphia. 

Moore : American Congress. Harper & Brothers, New York. 

Curtis : United States and Foreign Powers. Flood & Vincent, Mead- 
ville, Pa. 



LIST OF BOOKS USED. Vll 

Sterne : Constitutional History and Political Development of the United 
States. G. P. Putnam's Sons, New York. 

McCoNNELL : History of the American Episcopal Church. Thomas Whit- 
taker, New York. 

Dkaper : Civil Policy of America. Harper & Brothers, New York. 

Baird : The Huguenot in America. Dodd, Meade & Co., New York. 

Trainer : How to Study United States History. A. Flanigan, Chicago. 

Adams : Three Episodes in Massachusetts History. Houghton, Mifflin & 
Co., New York. 

Carleton: Boys of '61. Estes & Lauriat, Boston. 

Coffin : Old Times in the Colonies. Harper & Brothers, New York. 

Coffin : Building of the Nation. Harper & Brothers, New York. 

McM ASTER : History of the People of United States. D. Appleton & Co., 
New York. 

Frothingham : Rise of the Republic. Little, Brown & Co., Boston. 

HiLDRETH : United States History. Harper & Brothers, New York. 

Bryant and Gay : Popular History. Scribner's Sons, New York. 

LossiNG : Encyclopedia of United States History. Harper & Brothers, 
New York. 

Sparks : American Biography. Harper & Brothers, New York. 

Cyclopedia of American Biography. D. Appleton & Co., New York. 

Cooper : Naval History of United States. Armstrong & Son, New York. 

Johnston : History of American Politics. Henry Holt & Co., New York. 

Henry: Voice of the People. J. E. Sherrill, Danville, Ind. 

Von Holst : Constitutional History. Callaghan & Co., Chicago. 

Schouler : United States History. Dodd, Meade & Co., New York. 

Adams : United States History. Scribner's Sons, New York. 

Blaine: Twenty Years in Congress. College Book Store, Danville, Ind. 

Stevens: History of the Confederacy. College Book Store, Danville, Ind. 

Davis : Rise and Fall of the Confederate States. College Book Store, Dan- 
ville, Ind. 

Grant's Memoirs. College Book Store, Danville, Ind. 

Life of Lincoln. College Book Store, Danville, Ind. 

Life of Garfield. College Book Store, Danville, Ind. 

Sherman's Memoirs. College Book Store, Danville, Ind. 

Delmar : History of Monetary Systems. Charles H. Kerr & Co., Chicago. 

Treaties and Conventions of the United States. U. S. Report. 

Larnard : History for Ready References. C. A. Nichols Co., Springfield, 
Mass . 

Ingram : History of Slavery. College Book Store, Danville, Ind. 

ScHAFF : History of the Christian Church. Scribner's Sons, New York. 

Fisher : History of the Christian Church. Scribner's Sons, New York. 

Ridpath : History of Mankind. Jones Brothei'S Publishing Co., Cincinnati. 

Ridpath : History of the World. Jones Brothei'S Publishing Co., Cincinnati. 

Martin: Civil Government. A. S. Barnes & Co., Chicago. 

Andreavs : Civil Government. American Book Company, Cincinnati. 

Townsend : Civil Government. American Book Company, Cincinnati. 



Vlll LIST OF BOOKS USED. 

WiLsox : The State. D. C. Heath & Co., Boston. 

Headley : Washington and his Generals. Hnrst & Co., New York. 

RosEKRANZ : History of Education. Appleton, New York. 

RosEKRANZ : Philosophy of Education. Appleton, New Y^ork. 

Prescott : Ferdinand and Isabella. Hurst & Co., New Y'ork. 

Old South Leaflets. I). C. Heath & Co., Boston. 

State and United States Records and Constitutions. 

MacConx : Historical Geography of United States. Silver, Burdett & Co., 

Boston. 
ScuDDER : American Commonwealth. Houghton, INIifflin & Co., New York. 
American History Leaflets. A. Lovell & Co., New Y'ork. 
Parkman : Pioneers of New France. Little, Brown & Co., Boston. 
Doyle : The English in America. Henry Hall & Co., New Y^ork. 
Ellis : Red ]\Lan and White. Little, Brown & Co., Boston. 
Parkman : Conspiracy of Pontiac. Little, Brown & Co., Boston. 
Eggleston : Montezuma. Dodd, INIeade & Co., New Y'ork. 
AnnoTT : Cortez. Dodd, Meade & Co., Now York. 
FiSKE : Discovery of America. Houghton, IMitHin & Co., New York. 
Schoolcraft : Thirty Years with Indian Tribes. Lippincott, Philadelphia. 
FisKE : American Revolution. Houghton, Mifflin & Co., New York. 



CONTENTS 



CHAPTER I. 

PAGE 

IhsTORY Study and Teachixg 1 

CHAPTER n. 
Pre-Columbian Discoveries 22 

CHAPTER III. 
Pre-Columbian Civilization . 26 

CHAPTER IV. 
Jesuits and Indians 33 

CHAPTER V. 

Colonial Government , ... 57 

CHAPTER VI. 

Growth of Government 74 

CHAPTER VII. 
Making and Ratifying the Constitution 91 

CHAPTER VIII. 
Judicial Department 104 

CHAPTER IX. 

Congress . . ......... 113 

ix 



X CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER X, 

PAGE 

Executive Department 121 

CHAPTER XL 
Elections 132 

CHAPTER XII. 
Tauikf and Revenues 130 

CHAPTER XIII. 
PaI'EK INIONEY 153 

CHAPTER XIV. 
Com 165 

CHAPTER XV. 
Hanking 170 

CHAPTER XVI. 
Slavery 187 

CHAPTER XVIL 

¥> 01') 

Education "A- 

CHAPTER XVIII. 
Religion 230 

CHAPTER XIX. 
Journalism 244 

CHAPTER XX. 
Diplomacy . 2.54 



CONTENTS. Xi 

CHAPTER XXL 

FAGB 

Political Parties 258 

CHAPTER XXII. 
Customs 270 

CHAPTER XXIU. 
Amusements 281 

CHAPTER XXIV. 

Sickness and Medicine 286 

CHAPTER XXV. 

Territorial Growth 288 

CHAPTER XXVI. 
Manufactures 294 

CHAPTER XXVII. 
Mail 300 

CHAPTER XXVIII. 
The Farmer 305 

CHAPTER XXIX. 
The Laborer 308 

CHAPTER XXX. 
Lotteries 310 

CHAPTER XXXI. 
Witchcraft 313 



^ 



xii CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER XXXII. 

PAGE 

Crime and Punishment 317 



CHAPTER XXXIII. 
Inventions 321 

CHAPTER XXXIV. 
Transportation 339 

CHAPTER XXXV. 
Statk and Local Government 352 

CHAPTER XXXVI. 
Governments of the World 365 



INSTITUTIONAL HISTOEY OP UNITED STATES. 

CHAPTER I. 
HISTORY STUDY AND TEACHING. 

Definition of History — Reasons for studying it — Methods — Teacher 

— Mastery — Enthusiasm — Knowledge — When and where to begin 

— The Grades — Text-books — Division — Colonization — Causes op 
the Revolution — Story of — Critical Period — National Period — 
Civil War — Southern Government — Story of Civil War — Since 
the War. 

" "TF the present be the fruit of the past, " there is no study more 
JL valuable than history. However, it is a difficult matter to 
determine the comparative value of studies, for one person will 
make them more or less valuable to himself or to others according 
to his ability to study or present them. In studying or teaching a 
subject one ought to ask himself first, why and second, lioio it should 
be studied or taught. This shall be the plan of this chapter. First, 
why should history be studied at all? Second, how should it be 
studied? 

Cicero says, "History is the witness of times, the light of truth, 
the mistress of life." Diodorus calls it "the handmaid of Provi- 
dence, a priestess of truth, and a mother of life." Dionysius says, 
"History is philosophy teaching by example." Guizot defines 
it thus: "History is a great school of truth, reason, and virtue." 
These definitions are not good as definitions, and are not intended 
to be taken as such. They are given that the student may feel he 
is entering upon a field embracing life itself in all its thought, feel- 
ing, and will ; that history does " present all times, all truths, all 
life " ; that it is " Providence working and philosophy teaching " ; 
and is truly a "great school of truth, reason, and virtue." Why 
man works and at what he works, why he worships and what he 



2 INSTITUTIONAL HISTORY OF UNITED STATES. 

"worships, why he studies and what he studies, the causes and effects 
of his oratory, wars, law-making, moral progress, and political 
development, all are history. Leave any one of these out and we 
do not study history. Facts, dates, etc., are the least part of the 
whole, and yet they, too, are necessary. 

If I were defining history for advanced pupils, — and I would 
not define it for lower grades at all, — I would say, " History is a 
record of the past." It is a simple definition certainly, and may 
be old-fashioned, but it includes all thought, all feeling, all willing, 
as they are recorded in the progress of the ages. 

There are six reasons for studying history. First, it should be 
known for its guiding value. There is much truth in the old say- 
ing, "History repeats itself." There are certain inevitable truths 
controlling the ages. The things which destroyed Greece would 
destroy America; the force which united the world under Eome 
would unite the world again; the evils which caused Rome to fall 
would cause any empire in any age to fall. The statesman reads 
the future like an open book, the moralist foretells the doom of 
nations, the prophet depicts the fate of his race, because they "read 
the future by the past." It is in history we are warned against the 
errors of the world, and are taught what the future will be. 

Second, history, when taught even in the driest, poorest way, by 
simply repeating facts and dates, is an excellent training for the 
memory; and if presented in all its truth and life, it yields to none 
in the developing of that faculty. Memory should receive from the 
study of history its most valuable help. 

Third, history, when led beyond dry details, becomes a vivid 
picture and develops the imagination. One should see the great 
forces at work and take a stand on all the mental, moral, and physi- 
cal battle-fields, to watch their results. The study of history should 
be made a man-picturing and world-building process. 

Fourth, history trains the judgment. The Revolution is a single 
fact, but how complex are its origin, effects, etc. ! All simple facts 
are probably complex and require an analysis to fully understand 
them. We must compare, contrast, judge, analyze, and make deci- 
sions, if we would fully understand history. To all questions there 
are two sides. There are so many forces at work that one cannot 
easily say that this is so or that is so. Our ideas depend so much 
on our training, environment, and interest, that it is difficult to form 
a correct judgment. Uncertainty is so great a factor in history, and 



HISTORY STUDY AND TEACHING. 3 

the element of probability is so important, that it is certainly true 
that in history we secure the needed discipline for the judgment. 

Fifth, as a means of broad and liberal culture history has but 
one superior, and that is literature. Culture comes from a knowl- 
edge of men and of the world. History gives that knowledge. 

Last, but not least, perhaps foremost as a practical reason for 
history study, is the development of patriotism and love of country. 
When we think that a large per cent, of our children do not study 
history at all, and that many thousands of foreigners settle among 
us each year with no ideas of our institutions, we feel the need for 
something that will give the young pupil some idea of his country, 
and will make the foreigner acquainted with the nature of the land 
which he has adopted. We are most patriotic when we know 
what our country has cost in blood and money. I would have 
every boj^'s and girl's blood mount to the cheek, heart throb more 
quickly, eyes flash with patriotic fire and love, when they hear, 
proud America's song. I would have every foreigner's loyalty 
exercised on his American home; there is no quicker, easier way 
to do this than to teach the children the magnificent history of 
their native or adopted country. 

History should do and does do, when rightly studied, all the 
above and much more. Much depends upon the method of study, 
however, and in discussing that part of our work it is best to take 
up first the chief force — the teacher. If in any branch of study 
the teacher needs to be the living voice, the real life of the class, 
it is in history. Method is good, and a study of methods is valu- 
able and needful to the highest success of the teacher, but it is 
secondary to one factor in teaching. There are teachers who can 
never be successful, however much they study methods ; and no one 
can be successful who makes methods the chief factor. 

Above all method, and above all other qualifications of the 
teacher, is that of mastery of the subject. It is absolutely impos- 
sible to teach history successfully if the teacher does not know the 
study. He should throw books to the wind and stand before his 
class prepared to handle the lesson without any reference to books 
and any hesitancy in decisions. Mastery of the subject, as far as the 
class in hand need it, is the first requisite. If one is not willing to 
acquire that, there is nothing in this or any other work that will 
help him. But that done, one may be successful without any very 
systematic study of methods. If one would be a great teacher 



4 INSTITUTIONAL HISTORY OF UNITED STATES. 

of history, let him first knoAV history. Holding that to be the first 
and great requirement, I cannot do better than to quote a few other 
helpful qualifications : " Retentive memory; logical power to analyze 
and group facts; enthusiasm for the subject; sound judgment; clear 
insight into character and life; devotion to truth; persistence; 
vivid imagination; and a copious supply of clear and simple lan- 
guage." ^ 

The teacher needs enthusiasm in his work. In history we can 
well say, as is the teacher so is the pupil. In arithmetic and a few 
other studies some degree of interest might manifest itself in spite 
of tlie teacher, but that will seldom be true in history; the fire must 
be lighted from the teacher's own heat. Enthusiasm means to put 
the soul into the work. 

The teacher should live in close contact with current events ai... 
be a student of them. In this country he has an excellent oppor- 
tunity to do so. The daily paper carries to his door the news of 
government, religion, education, and politics, so that he may learn 
history as it is made, and may teach it so. He shoul 1 familiarize 
himself with local history, old landmarks, battle-fields, noted build- 
ings, and important men. By drawing current events, local history, 
and government into the study, history becomes a reality. Every 
pupil should be taught to give a little time each day to public 
affairs. Mere book knowledge is insufficient. AVe must experience 
history to know it and to teach it well. 

A knowledge of general literature is helpful to the teacher. He 
should study poems, novels, speeches, biographies, etc. It will 
help, to study a poem in connection with the history lesson. "Bar- 
bara Frietchie," "Evangeline," "Hiawatha," "Miles Standish," 
"Green Mountain Boys," Cooper's works, Henry's, Webster's, and 
Clay's speeches, "The Scarlet Letter," "Uncle Tom's Cabin," and 
many other valuable works should be in common use. 

Tlie ideal of the teacher should be high, even though he should 
never reach it; the fact that he has an ideal will make him a better 
teacher. No labor should be thought too difficult, and no reasonable 
expense too much to require of one's self, to be able to do Avork 
right. The consciousness of doing work well is worth the trouble 
and expense of so doing it. A forty-dollar teacher who will not try 
to do work worth one hundred dollars will likely never secure that 
amount. 

1 HiDsdale. 



HISTORY STUDY AND TEACHING. 5 

Before taking up the subject of methods and devices, it should 
be understood that no cast-iron, scratch-book methods are believed 
in. After ten years' experience, the writer should have gathered a 
few facts on the subject and some general truths that may help some 
one; but no two teachers can use successfully one method, nor can 
the same teacher use one method successfully for two different 
pupils or classes. The author frankly says to the teacher, that if 
he is reading this chapter that he may use the suggestions just as 
given, he will and ought to fail. Study it carefully, take from it 
what seems good for the purpose, apply it as the needs seem to 
demand, and if help is received by any one, the intention of the 
author is fulfilled. 

The first question that presents itself in teaching a subject is, 
j^'^hen should we begin, and where? We should begin teaching 
United States History the first year of school, and the place to begin 
should depend on the thing that interests the child most. The 
work of this grade, of course, must all be story-telling. The teacher 
should tell those stories that afford the most pleasu.re to the child. 
Sometimes it will be best to read the story as told by some one else. 
The teacher must be the judge of all these things. During the first 
two years this kind of work only can be done. Time, place, and 
geography have no part in the work so far. Dates should not be 
mentioned, and the stories should be of the nature of the heroic, 
giving examples of kindness, self-control, courage, patriotism, jus- 
tice, etc. The chief aim should be to interest the child. Myths 
and legends are good for this purpose. Pictures also are helpful. 
The teacher should have one or all of the following books : Mon- 
roe's "Story of Our Country," price 66 cents, published by Lee 
and Shepard, Boston; Pratt's "American History Stories," 4 vols., 
each 36 cents, published by Educational Publishing Company, Bos- 
ton; Eggleston's "Pirst Book of United States History," 60 cents, 
published by American Book Company, Cincinnati; Wright's 
"Children's Stories in American History," price $1.25, published 
by Scribner's Sons, New York; and "Children's Stories of Ameri- 
can Progress," same author, publisher, and price. Porthe first two 
years these books would answer all purposes. The teacher can 
easily find time for the work. Two lessons a week, fifteen minutes 
to one-half hour in length, would be sufficient. By having the 
child report, in its own way, Avhat it remembers of the story, the 
exercise would make a good language lesson. 



6 INSTITUTIONAL HISTORY OF UNITED STATES. 

The third year's work should differ from the first and second 
more in degree than in kind. If the teacher feels it right to do so, 
the work should be advanced slightly, but still it must be made up 
of the story and biography. The child is now, perhaps, nine years 
old, and is able to grasp some system in the work. I would not 
take up more time than in the previous grades, and would use the 
lesson in much the same Avay. The pupil now can make more indi- 
vidual use of the story, and be more independent of the teacher; 
but the teacher should not forget the value of a well-told story or 
one well read. Let the pupil work in that period which he likes 
best, and hear those stories that most interest him, without regard 
to the order of taking them up. Some such method or system of 
placing the history into periods as the following would be good: 
first period. Exploration ; second, Colonization ; third, Wars ; fourth, 
National Period. Blaisdell's "Stories of the Civil War," sold by 
Lee and Shepard, Boston, price 35 cents; Johonnot's "Stories of 
Our Country " and " Stories of Heroic Deeds," 30 cents and 40 cents 
each, American Book Company, Cincinnati, Ohio; and Moore's 
"Pilgrims and Puritans," Ginn & Co., Chicago, 60 cents, would be 
good books for this grade. 

In the fourth year geography and history should be connected. 
All points of interest should be located on the map, and local geog- 
raphy and history should be studied. It would certainly be best to 
continue grouping history into periods. Sub-grouping the periods 
would prove useful also. A few of the most important dates should 
be learned, such as 1492, 1607, 1776, 1789, 1861, etc. Manners 
and customs can be introduced to advantage. The pupil will become 
intensely interested in studying the dress, furniture, amusements, 
and mode of living generally among the colonists. Eggleston's 
History is an excellent book for this part of the work, as are also 
Higginson's and Scudder's. McMaster's work is the best authority 
on this line of history, but it is too voluminous and costly for the 
average teacher. The books mentioned for the third year are suited 
to the work in this grade also. Dodge's "Stories of American 
History," Lee and Shepard, Boston, price 35 cents, would be a 
good book to introduce at this time. The language lessons may be 
made more valuable from the fourth grade on than before that 
time. Let the pupil Avrite or repeat the stories he reads or hears 
read. Criticise the work carefully. 

It is not necessary to deal minutely with the fifth, sixth, and 



HISTORY STUDY AND TEACHING. 7 

seventh grades, since T could but repeat much that has been given 
for the fourth grade. Each year should add a little more system 
and a few more dates. Oilman's Historical Readers, 3 vols., 36 
cents, 48 cents, and 60 cents, respectively, publislied by the Inter- 
state Publishing Company, Boston, and Lee aud Shepard's Young 
Folk's Series added to the books already named, will be useful and 
inexpensive. Much of the work in these grades could be given as 
supplementary reading and language work two or three times a 
week. Poems, speeches, and articles written for special events 
should receive attention. Many important dates, events, and quo- 
tations should be learned. The teacher, always on the alert, will 
be able to introduce many things useful and interesting. 

Up to this time the pupil has used no text-book, and has not 
really studied history in the sense he should now take it up. But 
what a wonderful amount of information has been gathered ! The 
pupil is now from twelve to fifteen years old, and is ready to begin 
a careful, systematic text-book work on history. He has reached 
the age when he should be able to enter into causes and effects, and 
the logical relations of things. If he has done the work as indi- 
cated above, he is in excellent condition for the work to follow. He 
already has facts and ideas ; and more, he loves and appreciates his 
country. 

Many teachers will have pupils who have never studied history, 
or who do not like it. The teacher then has a delicate task before 
him. His duty is to make a future citizen of our country love its 
history. The writer has succeeded in doing this a few times under 
very adverse circumstances. It was done by seeming not to do it, 
— by arousing the interest of the pupil in such way that he did not 
know the end aimed at, and seemed to be following only his own 
inclinations. Let the teacher have on his desk such books as Barnes' 
History, Eggleston's, Higginson's, or Coffin's. Let him inciden- 
tally place one of these in the hands of the pupil, over which the 
latter may pass a few minutes in looking at the pictures or reading 
some parts of the book. Gradually his interest will awaken, and 
by judicious handling he will often volunteer to take up the work. 

During the text-book period, the topic or outline system should 
be used. Let the outline follow some certain text in most part; but 
no one text-book should be made to answer for all the work. In- 
vestigation should be made necessary, and the pupil should be 
taught to find his information from every source. He should handle 



8 INSTITUTIONAL HISTORY OF UNITED STATES. 

books and should learn their contents. It is by this plan that he 
will secure that ability to find his information quickly from any 
book by use of the index or contents. This is in itself an educa- 
tion. No student should be satisfied until he learns to get from a 
book, quickly, all that he wants. The outline system is a great help 
to that end. On general principles every teacher should make liis 
own topic list for the lesson. He knoAvs the needs of his class and 
can thus fit his outline to their ability and advantages. 

A good text-book is a very necessary aid to the best work in 
history. The lower grades are well furnished with good books, but 
the higher grades certainly lack a suitable book, unless this, as the 
author hopes, shall prove to be one. However, if the teacher thinks 
some other should be used, he has a good list from which to choose. 
Johnston's United States History is, as far as the writer knows, the 
best text-book of its kind up to date. Montgomery's is good. " The 
Voice of the People," Johnston's "American Politics," and the 
"Dictionary of American Politics " are a few of the books to which 
the teacher and pupil should have access. 

A good division of United States History, for its study, is the 
following: Discovery and Exploration, 1492-1 GOT; Colonization, 
1607-1776; Continental Government, 1776-1789; and National 
Period, 1789- . Taking these up in the order given, each 
should be treated as fully as its importance requires. Compara- 
tively little time is necessary for the Period of Explorations. Much 
of the work of this period is a mere matter of memory. It is a good 
exercise to have the pupil write in a given time — one minute or 
two minutes — all the dates from 1492 to 1607, which ho remembers, 
and of which he can tell. something. As a review have him name 
the English, French, Spanish, and Dutch explorers, and give the 
dates of their discoveries and explorations. The teacher should 
also have a spelling exercise on the names of persons and places. 
iJy all means he should use the geography, and should give si)eeial 
study to the life of Columbus and to the Indians. In a few days' 
drill, the class will have fixed these names, places, and dates in 
their memory, and can leave them for tlie next period. Do not for- 
get the value of reviews; every day a few minutes should be used 
in fixing more certainly some fact. 

Now the class is ready for the second period. Colonization, from 
1607 to 1776. This is a most important part of the history work. 
It is best to study the colonies separately, and in the order of their 



HISTORY STUDY AND TEACHING. 9 

settlement, beginning with Virginia and ending with Georgia. 
Time, purpose, place, education, religion, and government are the 
important points to learn. Many other things enter into the Avork, 
but these are the leading facts to bring out. By studying these facts 
and discussing them, other things of importance will be noted. The 
boundary of each colony should be understood, as should the claims 
of each of the nations. After going over each colony carefully and 
learning the particular nature of each, all should be compared and 
contrasted, bringing out the like and unlike parts. The Northern 
Colonies should be compared with the Middle Colonies and Avith the 
Southern Colonies; also the Middle Colonies with the Southern Colo- 
nies. The laws of each colony, and the exact government of each 
just before the Eevolution, should be understood. Slavery, intem- 
perance, the money system, banking, and trade are all important. 
Now is the proper time to give attention to the influence of the 
geography and climate, and to the causes for English success, and 
French, Spanish, and Dutch failures. Several religious sects also 
should have our attention, — the Jesuits, Huguenots, and Pilgrims 
especially. The Churchmen of Holland, the Quakers, Catholics, 
Churchmen of England, Presbyterians, Methodists, etc., are impor- 
tant to understand. The Germans, Irish, and Scotch form an ele- 
ment in the progress of the colonies. By this study, the pupil Avill 
secure a living and personal idea of colonial life. He will have 
placed himself in close sympathy with it and have studied it from 
the standpoint of the colonists themselves. The teacher will feel 
amply repaid for any extra work it may have cost. 

In this period we have several wars that affect us more or less, 
but none of them needs much attention except the Prench and Indian 
War. This war is important from the fact that it was the final 
struggle between the tAvo leading European nations for supremacy 
in the 'New World. No more critical period lies anywhere in the 
four centuries of our history than in this struggle for the NeAV 
World between the French and English. Parkman's " Fifty Years 
of Conquest " and his " Montcalm and Wolfe " are excellent books 
on this important period. They are sold by Little, BroAvn & Co., of 
Boston. 

When the pupil sees and feels that this War means much, he 
then is ready to take up its parts. First, notice the objective or 
important points for which the struggle was made. Never- study a 
war just for the sake of the Avar, but for its causes and effects. Again, 



10 INSTITDTIONAL HISTORY OF UNITED STATES. 

never study a battle just for the sake of the battle, but to leani its 
cause, and the effect it has on the struggle at hand. Fort Duquesne, 
Crown Point and Ticonderoga, Quebec, Niagara, and Louisburg, all 
iu the beginning of the struggle held by France, were not important 
in themselves, but were to the nations at war. Fort Duquesne was 
the key to all the territory in dispute, — the Ohio and Mississippi 
valleys. The same way it should be shown that the party holding 
Crown Point and Ticonderoga held the pass from Canada into New 
England; and that Niagara was the key to the lakes and to a great 
fur region ; that Quebec was the American Gibraltar and the key to 
the St. Lawrence; while Louisburg controlled the fisheries of the 
river and gulf. Stirring incidents were located at those points, and 
American patriotism first found place in American history there. 

In closing the study of a war the teacher should always pay care- 
ful attention to the treaty of peace. Notice the treaty that closed 
the French and Indian AVar. By it France was practically swept off 
the continent, Spain's territory Avas enlarged, and England's ex- 
tended to the Mississippi and from Florida north into Canada. 
Holland had given up her territory long before. 

After having completed the study of the French and Indian 
War, the next step would lead us into the causes of the Kevolution. 
The Stamp Act was the real beginning of the trouble between the 
colonies and England. In this one act of Parliament there is a good 
lesson. First, what was the Stamp Act? What effect had it on the 
colonists? Study the Colonial Assemblies, the Stamp Act Congress, 
and the different organizations that grew out of the efforts of the 
people in their resistance. Note why the people resisted so bitterly 
and what effect the resistance had on Parliament. See that after 
the repeal of the Stamp Act the people still resisted because of the 
Declaratory Act in the repeal, showing that they were not resisting 
taxation but non-representation. 

The " Six Years' Ilesistance " began in 1770. Parlianicnt imposed 
commercial taxes, placed Boston under military government, and 
sought to deceive the people on a tea tax. These acts were followed 
by the Boston Massacre, Boston Tea Party, Five Intolerable Acts, 
resistance in Philadelphia, Rhode Island, New York, Charleston, 
etc., all culminating at last in the First Continental Congress, which 
petitioned the king, hoi)ing he wo\ild lend his influence to aid the 
colonists in their figlit with I'arlianient. Receiving no aid from 
him, the people sent delegates to the Second Continental Congress 



HISTORY STUDY AND TEACHING. 11 

in 1775. The teacher should have the pupils understand why and 
how the Continental Congresses met; how the delegates were ap- 
pointed; how long each Congress lasted; what each did; and how 
the Second Continental Congress became the National Legislative 
House during the War, made the Declaration of Independence, Arti- 
cles of Confederation, and otherwise controlled and governed the 
country as it had power. These are very interesting as well as 
important topics, and should be understood. 

AVith the hope of assisting the teacher, I will give the story of 
the Revolution, as it may be presented to a class. Lexington and 
Bunker Hill have been fought, we will suppose, and the pupil has 
located them on the map which he must always keep before him. 
Their causes are understood and also their effects. We now stand 
with Washington overlooking Boston, which has been held for six 
years by the British. Howe is moving out under agreement that 
he shall not be disturbed, and in return he agrees not to burn 
Boston. Why this agreement? Why did not Washington capture 
Howe if he were strong enough to drive him out, or Howe move 
out and take Washington if he were strong enough to make terms 
with him? And why did Howe move up to Halifax? First, Howe 
was not strong enough at this time to defeat Washington, and he 
thought it a wise plan to retreat, if possible, until England should 
have time to reinforce him. This he could better do if AVashington 
did not interfere. In turn, Washington could not capture Howe 
without the latter burning Boston, as he threatened to do if any 
attempt were made to capture him. Howe retreated to Halifax 
because he had supplies and reinforcements there. 

England now entered into a systematic plan of warfare, and 
Washington placed himself on the defensive. The plan of the 
British was a good one. Howe, the General, seconded by Clinton 
on land, and Howe, the Admiral, on the sea, was to move on New 
York, capture that place, and then move westward towards Phila- 
delphia and take that city, the seat of government. Burgoyne was 
to move southward through New England and join Howe, thus cut- 
ting the North from the South, and annexing the former to Canada. 
Washington met this plan of attack by placing his own aimiy at 
New York, and a second force in the North to meet Burgoyne. 
After the battle of Long Island he retreated northward with the 
hope of drawing Howe from Philadelphia. Not entirely succeeding, 
he began tlie famous " Retreat " to protect Philadelphia. He cap- 



12 Institutional history of united states. 

tured Treutou and Princeton more to inspire and encourage his men 
than for any other reason. The Delaware being obstructed by the 
Americans, the British brought up their forces by the Chesapeake 
Bay and the Brandywine Creek to Chad's Ford. Washington moved 
south of Bhihidelphia to meet them, but was defeated. The British 
then moved into Philadelphia, and Washington attacked tliem soon 
after at Gerraantown. 

Howe accomplished his purpose, but what of Burgoyne? Gates 
by this time, 1777, had taken charge of the army in the North, and 
had succeeded in harassing Burgoyne by cutting him off from his 
supplies, etc., until nothing remained for him to do but to surrender. 
This surrender should appear in full force to the student of the War. 
Saratoga is classed as one of the world's decisive battles. If Eng- 
land had won, Burgoyne, unopposed, would have moved southward, 
and Avith the aid of Howe have captured Washington and thus prac- 
tically have ended the War. J^ut the Americans won. Then France, 
on the strength of the victory, acknowledged the independence of 
the colonies. This was helpful, but she soon went further and 
made a treaty of alliance with them. This alliance, bringing on 
war between England and France, called Spain into the struggle 
against England because of their natural enmity and because Spam, 
having great possessions on this continent, considered it bettei" for 
her that the colonies should be independent. The next year, 1780, 
Holland joined the alliance against England purely for commercial 
reasons. Holland had become a great commercial nation. She 
needed the Mediterranean, the waters along the coast of South 
America and Mexico, and the Mississippi River. The great coast 
nations of Europe, — France' and Spain, — with their colonies, were 
open to Holland if she joined the alliance. To keep her industry 
unimpaired, she joined an alliance that could not work her much 
harm. These, then, were the conditions: at home England was at 
war with France, Spain, and Holland; in her colonies she was at 
war with the Americans, who were assisted by the French. 

France, immediately after making the alliance, prepared to send 
a fleet to America. Clinton, who had succeeded Howe, ordered the 
British troops to tlie coast, where they could cooperate with the Eng- 
lish fleet in o])])Osing tlie French. Washington followed them closely 
and attacked then\ at Monmouth. He then })laced his army around 
New York to watch Clinton, who was in the city. The two armies 
held those positions until just before the surrender of Yorktown. 



filSTORY STUDY AND TEACHING. 18 

The English gave uj) all hope of conquering the Northern States 
after Burgoyne's surrender, and carried the war to the South. Corn- 
wallis, after the battles of Camden, Cowpens, Eutaw Springs, etc., 
was ordered by Clinton to move to some place on the coast con- 
venient to New York, to cooperate with the English fleet and to be 
near Clinton's army. Lord Eawdon was left in the South to hold 
the territory already gained. Yorktown was the place chosen by 
Cornwallis for his army. Now began a series of brilliant move- 
ments. The French fleet prevented the English from sending assist- 
ance to Cornwallis by sea. Washington ordered a part of the forces 
in the South to come up to Yorktown, and by a series of strategies 
made Clinton believe he was preparing an attack on him, while he 
was really planning a move on Yorktown. When it was too late, 
Clinton saw his mistake, and started northward, hoping to draw 
Washington after him. He could not reach Cornwallis by land 
without passing through Washington's army, and he could not reach 
him by sea because of the French fleet. Cornwallis could not leave 
Yorktown for the same reasons. He could only surrender. The 
rest is soon told, as this practically ended the War. Peace came, 
and a new star rose in the constellation of the world's great nations. 

The class should now study what Mr. Fiske calls our " Critical 
Period," — the period from 1783 to 1789. They should see how the 
Articles were insufficient and why a new government was necessary. 
The Federal Convention and its work should be carefully studied. 
Then if they will give proper attention to the ratification of the 
Constitution, to the manner of changing from one government to 
the other, and to the Constitution, they will be well prepared to 
enter on the study of the National Period. They should give a few 
days to the study of our governmental departments, — the Executive, 
Judicial, and Legislative. 

Beginning with Washington's, it will be found a good plan to 
take up the administrations in their order, discussing the topics 
under each; but the teacher should be sure that unity is preserved. 
The pupil should see the banking system as a whole, and understand 
its parts as well; the admission of states in their order should be 
memorized; political parties should be traced and their principles 
understood; slavery should form a well-connected story in all its 
causes and effects ; the tariff should be studied in the same way ; and 
the money system in all its phases should have the most thorough 
study. Draw out the difference between the banking system of 



14 INSTITUTIONAL HISTORY OF UNITED STATES. 

the first forty years of ovir national history and that of the present. 
Study the state, private, and corporation banks. Familiarize the 
class with the paper money of the present. The bank-note, silver 
certificate, gold certificate, greenback, treasury note, and currency 
certificate should be understood in their origin, value, and security. 
This is not too much to ask the teacher and pupil to know. The 
teacher should feel that history is to be understood, not merely 
memorized. 

The different wars, of course, will have a part in the work on 
administrations. It will not require much time to dispose of the 
War of 1812 and the Mexican War. Use the same methods as in 
the Revolution, and notice carefully the treaties. In this connection 
it is proper to speak of the different extensions of our boundary lines. 
This is too important to receive only a passing notice. Keeping in 
mind our boundary in 1783, the growth of the country should be a 
matter of careful study by the class. The one great fact in the 
National Period is the Civil War. It is the most difficult subject 
in United States History to teach, chiefly because we are likely to 
feel that there is nothing in a war to understand ; that it is all mem- 
ory. Battles! Battles! Battles! What is there to understand! 
There is where we make our mistake. There is much to understand 
in a war, after which there will be little necessity for memorizing. 
With causes that date back to our beginning as a nation, and with 
effects that never shall be erased, what is there not to i;nderstand 
in our Civil War! 

Taking up the War, the class should be drilled on l^uchanan's 
administration, that it may learn the steps leading directly to that 
event. The political parties of the campaign of 18G0 should be 
studied, that the pupil may know the policies of the time and the 
direct result of the election. Soutli Carolina, Mississippi, Alabama, 
Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, and Texas seceded just after the elec- 
tion because of the success of Lincoln. Tliese seven states called 
conventions for the purpose of deciding on secession ; and when the 
power had thus passed from the hands of the people into the hands 
of the conventions, the people had little, directly, to say concerning 
disunion, though they manfully followed the lead of the delegates 
through a struggle unparalleled in history. 

When the delegates, elected to the state conventions by the 
people, met, they decided to hold a national convention at Mont- 
gomery, Alabama, to which they sent delegates. Here the Con- 



HISTORY STUDY AND TEACHING. 15 

federate States of America were formed, and Jefferson Davis and 
Alexander Stephens were elected provisional President and Vice- 
President, to serve one year, or until a permanent constitution was 
made, providing that was done within a year. A provisional con- 
stitution was formed to stand until a permanent one was made. If 
the permanent one were not made, however, before the time, — one 
year from the inauguration of the provisional president, — then the 
provisional constitution was to cease. The provisional constitution 
placed all legislative power in the Montgomery Convention and 
placed the executive power there also until the president should be 
inaugurated. The permanent constitution, which was adopted Feb- 
ruary 22, 1862, and under which Mr. Davis and Mr. Stephens were 
elected President and Vice-President, was very different from the 
provisional constitution. Two houses of Congress were organized 
with much the same poAvers and duties as those under the United 
States Constitution, and their members were elected the same as 
United States congressmen are. The President and Vice-President 
held office for six years and were elected the same as the President 
of the United States. In all things except slavery, state rights, 
and tariff, the Confederate Constitiition agreed materially with the 
United States Constitution. Slavery and state rights were the 
corner-stones of the Confederation, and a protective tariff was made 
impossible. 

This brief survey of the Confederate government is given here, 
somewhat out of place perhaps, that the teacher may be sure to 
make it a part of his work and may enter on the study of the War 
with an understanding of both governments. The pupil may now 
begin the study of Lincoln's administration, where the different 
steps will soon bring him to the Declaration of War by the Mont- 
gomery Convention. 

When the Confederacy fired on Fort Sumter and forced it to 
surrender, though defended so heroically by Major Anderson, of 
Tennessee, the Union made a call for troops to put down the Rebel- 
lion. This call being met easily, and preparations for war being 
made rapidly by the Union, four more states seceded, — North Car- 
olina, Tennessee, Arkansas, and Virginia. These seceded, not 
because Lincoln was elected, but because the government intended 
to make war on sister states for seceding. They claimed that while 
it was best to be in the Union, no part of the states had a right to 
force any other part to stay in it. Through sympathy and the doc- 



16 INSTITUTIONAL HISTORY OF UNITED STATES. 

triue of state rights, these states joined their fate with the Confed- 
eracy, which now consisted of eleven states. Kentucky, Maryland, 
and Missouri voted to remain neutral, but found to their sorrow 
that there was no neutral place to fill in the awful contest at hand. 
Each of the three states sent soldiers to both armies, but all re- 
mained in the Union. Missouri's legislature voted that state out, 
but the people brought it back into the Union. 

Mr. Lincoln issued his Blockade Decree, closing the Southern 
ports. The South, looking upon itself as an independent govern- 
ment, immediately declared war. Thus the curtain rises, and before 
it falls four acts are played, in which a million men die and blood 
flows like water. 

I sluill tell the story of the Civil War as I would present it to a 
class. I hope it may help many over this most ditticult period. By 
all means do not forget the value of the maps. Trace out every 
movement of both armies, locate all battles, and learn the causes 
and effects of each. It will be helpful to follow each division of 
the Union Army throvigh the entire war, thvis keeping a connected 
story and making it more easy to remember. 

Twenty miles below Washington is the ill-fated field of Bull 
Run, twice the scene of the defeat of a Union Army. On this field 
was a confident Southern Army looking towards Washington and 
the North. Above it was a careless but confident Union Army that 
sought to defend Washington, prevent an invasion of the North, 
and capture Eichmond. The result is well known. The Union 
learned a bitter lesson ; the South had hers put off four years, but 
it was only the more bitter when learned. 

General Scott, who had fought through two wars, and was made 
lieutenant-general in 1859, was acting commander-in-chief of the 
Union Army. General McClellan succeeded him soon with the title of 
major-general. General Beauregard was acting commander-in-chief 
of the Confederate forces, and had charge in person at Bull Run. 
After the battle of Bull Run the two generals spent until May, 
1862, organizing and drilling magnificent armies, for all knew that 
a terrible war was just ahead. 

To conceive the position held by the Confederate Army at the 
beginning of 18G2, take the map and draw a line from Island No. 10 
on the Mississippi to Forts Henry and Donelson, Bowling Green, 
Mill Springs, Cumberland Gap, eastward to Bull Run and the 
coast. In the west and center the line was in command of Albert 



HISTORY STUDY AND TEACHING. 17 

Sidney Johnston. It was the purpose of the Union Army to break 
the defense, open the Mississippi River, complete the blockade, and 
take Richmond. General Halleck was department commander of 
the West, General Grant had a small army of 15,000 men at Cairo, 
and General Buell was in Central Kentucky with 100,000 men. In 
the East was General McClellan with 200,000 men, a magnificently 
drilled and equipped army. General Joseph E. Johnston, acting 
commander-in-chief of the Confederate Army, had command in 
person in Virginia. 

The Johnstons stationed their men on the military chessboard 
and placed them well. McClellan, seconded by Halleck, and the 
latter by Grant and Buell, was to take the " king, " Richmond. The 
place to strike the Confederates, concluded McClellan, Halleck, and 
Grant, was at Fort Henry. That place taken, the Southern Army 
would have to retreat southward to cover its base of supplies at 
Corinth and to protect the railroad running from the West across to 
Atlanta, carrying supplies to the East from the great Soutlnvest. 
Grant moved on Fort Henry, but the Southern forces escaped and 
crossed to Fort Donelson, twelve miles east. On February 12, 1862, 
Grant and Foote, acting together, forced Fort Donelson to surrender 
with 14,000 prisoners. 

This broke the line of defense. The center moved back into 
Tennessee, and Corinth was made the point of warfare by both 
armies, it being the base of supplies for the Southern Army; but 
before reaching that place there occurred the first great battle of the 
War, — Shiloh. Grant's army, increased to 40,000 men, moved by 
boat up the Tennessee River and camped at Pittsburg Landing. 
Buell was ordered to join him. Tennessee was now under military 
government, with Andrew Johnson as military governor. To pre- 
vent the junction of Grant and Buell, General A. S. Johnston re- 
solved to surprise Grant and defeat him before Buell arrived. In 
the engagement the Union Army at first suffered from its disadvan- 
tages, but was saved from defeat by the gunboats. Buell arrived 
just at this time, and the Confederate Army was driven from the 
field. Its great commander, A. S. Johnston, was killed, and was 
succeeded by Beauregard. The victory was claimed by both armies ; 
but the Union Army held the field, and no doubt had the advantage, 
though it had lost 13,000 men, and the Confederate but 11,000. 
The former had 57,000 men in the engagement, against 40,000 of 
the latter. General Halleck now took command of the Army of 



18 INSTITUTIONAL HISTORY OF UNITED STATES. 

the West in person and proceeded to Corinth, the great railroad 
center, which Avas defended by Beauregard. As Halleck advanced, 
Beauregard evacuated, and Corinth fell into the hands of the Union 
forces. In the meantime New Orleans had fallen, Island No. 10 
was taken, and Memphis had surrendered, so that the Mississippi 
lliver was open except at Vicksburg and }*ort Hudson. The Army 
of the West had done its work well. 

Pass now to the center, where Buell was opposed by Bragg, who 
had superseded Beauregard as commander of the Confederate Army 
in the West. Bragg resolved to invade Kentucky for the purpose 
of holding it for the South. He and Buell started on a race for 
Louisville, and the latter reached it one day in advance of the for- 
mer. Bragg remained in Kentucky about a month gathering plun- 
der, and then fought the battle of Perryville with Buell. The 
result was indecisive, though the Confederates escaped to Chatta- 
nooga with a wagon train of booty forty miles in length. Buell 
was removed from his command for his lack of generalship, and 
Rosecrans was placed in charge of the army at Nashville. Again 
Bra"-"- started northward, and Rosecrans met him at Murfreesboro 
and drove him back into Chattanooga. 

In the East affairs were in a serious condition in 1862. General 
McClellan, in moving against Richmond, went by boat to Fortress 
Monroe, to evade the rivers, swamps, and fortified Confederates. 
To protect Washington, he left General McDowell, with a part of 
the army, at Fredericksburg, and placed Banks in the Shenandoah 
valley. General Johnston moved southward rapidly to protect 
Richmond. Yorktown was the first fortified place between Fortress 
Monroe and Richmond, and was attacked by McClellan. From 
here the Confederates moved to Williamsburg, where they were 
driven back into Richmond itself. The Union gunboats held the 
James River to witliin eight miles of Richmond. McClellan placed 
his men on both sides the Chickahominy, to be near McDowell, 
protect Washington, and also watch Richmond. The river rising 
while his army was divided, he found it impossible to join the two 
divisions, and Johnston attacked one at Seven Pines and Fair Oaks. 
Johnston was wounded at the latter place, and Lee succeeded him in 
command of the Southern Army. 

The Union Army was outgeneraled for a while following the 
battle of Fair Oaks. Jackson threatened Washington by going up 
the Shenandoah, and Stuart made a raid around the Union Army, 



HISTORY STUDY AND TEACHING. 19 

doing much damage. McDowell was called back to protect Wash- 
ington, and McClellan's plan was thus destroyed. He was left with 
his divided army to extricate himself. Lee ordered Jackson back 
to Richmond, and prepared to strike McClellan north of the Chicka- 
hominy and cut him oft' from his supplies on the York. This was 
attempted at Mechanicsville and Gaines' Mill, in the Seven Days' 
Battle. McClellan moved his army southward to the James to 
unite it again. In this retreat he fought battles at Savage Station, 
Frazier's Farm, and Malvern Hill, where he succeeded in uniting 
his forces. Pope, in the meantime, had taken charge of the forces 
near Washington, and Lee had sent Jackson north to attack him, 
where again on the Bull Run battle-field the Union forces were com- 
pletely routed. 

McClellan, after the defeat at Bull Run, was ordered North by 
boat to take charge of the forces around Washington. Lee also 
moved northward, pressed closely by McClellan, who forced a fight 
at Antietam, where Lee was compelled to give up his plan of invad- 
ing the North. McClellan was censured for allowing Lee to escape, 
and was superseded by Burnsides, who attacked Lee at Fredericks- 
burg, mainly because the War Department ordered it and the North 
clamored for a battle. He knew he would be defeated, as Lee had 
every advantage. So he was, after which Joseph Hooker took 
charge of the army. 

There were some changes made in the leadership of the North- 
ern Army in the year 1862. At Corinth Halleck was put in com- 
mand of the whole Army of the Union, and Grant was placed in 
command of the West. Halleck went to Washington as an advisory 
chief of the War Department. Grant took Vicksburg, July 4, 1863, 
and then Avent to Chattanooga, where an interesting move had been 
made. We left Bragg in Chattanooga surrounded by Rosecrans. 
When Grant went over there, Rosecrans was besieged by Bragg. 
Why this change? Bragg skillfully moved out of Chattanooga in 
hopes to draw Rosecrans after him. The ruse succeeded. Bragg 
turned on Rosecrans at Chickamauga and drove him back into 
Chattanooga, where he was compelled almost to surrender before 
being reinforced by Grant. The battle of Chattanooga was a vic- 
tory for the Union Army, and Grant went east to take charge of 
the Army of the Potomac, with full command of all the armies in 
the field. Sherman was left to oppose Bragg, who retreated south- 
ward to Dalton, Georgia, where General Johnston was put in com- 



20 INSTITUTIONAL HISTORY OF UNITED STATES. 

mand. Thus we leave 1863 with the advantage very much in favor 
of the Union on hind, though no great gains had been made on the 
sea. 

The year 18G4 opened badly for the South. It had but two great 
armies, — Lee's, of 62,000 men, and Johnston's, of 75,000. Grant, 
with 116,000 men, was o})posed to Lee, and Sherman, with 100,000 
men, was against Johnston. The South was now drafting men 
between eighteen and forty-five years of age, and none but women, 
children, and old men were left at home. No cattle could come in 
from west of the Mississippi, as the railroads were destroyed. 
Grain could not be sent from Virginia and Tennessee, as the Union 
Army was too strong there. Sugar could not come from Louisiana, 
nor salt from the coast. No cotton could be sent away on account of 
the blockade. Paper money was so plentiful that it was practically 
worthless. The soldiers were fed and clothed poorly. The conflict 
was a hopeless effort after 1863, but the Southern Army met it all 
bravely and fought desperately. 

The War was converted into one great siege at the beginning 
of the year 1864. Grant ordered a concerted move, and -Sherman 
drove Johnston back into Atlanta, where Hood succeeded him and 
was defeated by Sherman. From Atlanta Sherman began Ids famous 
"March to the Sea," and entered Savannah at the close of the year. 
Grant started in at the Wilderness, and moved down through Spott- 
sylvania and Cold Harbor, into Petersburg. Sheridan destroyed the 
Shenandoah valley, and Hood's army was annihilated at Nashville 
by Thomas. Mobile surrendered. In spite of treason and lassitude 
in the North, the end was now near. Sherman, in January, 1865, 
was at Savannah, ready to march northward. Grant was at Peters- 
burg, the last defense of Richmond. Lee was in Richmond and 
Johnston was between Sherman and Grant. Petersburg fell early 
in 1865, and Richmond, the " king " on the chessboard, fell soon 
afterwards. Lee sought to escape to the mountains, join Johnston, 
and prolong the war, for every delay now was dangerous to the 
Union; minutes, even, were precious. Sheridan was sent across 
the country to head Lee, and Grant followed closely after Lee's 
army from Rielimond. At Appomattox Slieridan was in front of 
the Confederates and Grant was beliind them. There was but one 
thing to do. Lee, the magnificent general, surrendered to a man 
generous to a fault, the great citizen-soldier, U. S. Grant. A few 
days afterwards, Johnston surrendered to Sherman, and the drama 



HISTORY STUDY AND TEACHING. 21 

was over, the curtain dropped. May it ever hide strife and dis- 
union. 

After the War, the great question was the coming back into the 
Union of the seceded states. The class should study this struggle 
carefully, together with the amendments to the Constitution. In 
the recent administrations look to the work on tariff and money 
legislation. In these the teacher has an excellent opportunity to 
bring in current events, and to make the pupil a student of history 
as it is made. 



CHAPTER 11. 

PRE-COLUMBIAN DISCOVERIES. 
Belief of Columbus — Ancient Theories — Middle Ages — Claims. 

WHY dost tliou falter in thy trust in God? He gave thee 
India! " In a fever on his last voyage home from Amer- 
ica, Columbus, in his despair, cried out these words. And in the 
belief that he had found India, he died. Pie thought Hayti to be 
Cipangu ; and Cuba, Cathay, the east coast of India. The discovery 
of the error created greater surprise than the discovery of the 
islands. It was when the Pacific Ocean was known that the world 
knew that another great water lay between Columbus and his 
hopes. The world could scarcely believe that the boasted knowl- 
edge of the ancient Greeks had left undiscovered so great a fact. 
Since trade was the industry that moved the wealth of Spain to 
seek a water route to India, the commercial world saw the new 
world only as a disappointment and an obstruction to overcome. 
The error had been in the estimate of the size of the earth, and not 
in its shape. Ancient Greece had looked on the world as a plain 
with the ^gean Sea as the center and surrounded by the river 
Oceanus. Beyond Oceanus there was a vast realm of dust and 
darkness which even fancy could not penetrate. 

About the sixth century b.c. the philosophy of nature began to 
be studied, which finally ended in the belief of the sphericity of the 
earth. It is not certainly known who first taught it, but as far as 
known the Pythagoreans have the honor. It was by no means a 
scientific discovery. They looked on the earth as a sphere because 
tliat was the most perfect body. They placed it in the center of the 
universe because that was the place of honor, and it was motionless, 
they thought, because a state of rest was more dignified than that of 
motion. Plato took up the theory and made it more or less popu- 
lar, and Aristotle made it seem to be a fact. From Greece, Rome 

22 



PRE-COLUMBIAN DISCOVERIES. 23 

took it; from E,ome, it passed to the barbarians of the north and 
into the school-books of the Middle Ages, on down to us. 

Men differed as to the size of the earth. Aristotle thought it 
was 50,000 miles in circumference; Archimedes, 37,500; the libra- 
rian of Alexandria, in the third century, by a scientific measure- 
ment made it 31,000; and the size accepted by the Middle Ages and 
by Columbus was even smaller, about 8000 miles in diameter. 

But a small portion of Europe, Asia, and Africa was known, and 
that was thought to be an island about 10,000 miles long and half 
that width. Men often talked in a mythical way of a land in the 
arms of the great ocean, and a southern hemisphere, in all things 
much like the northern. 

The geography of the Middle Ages, as Columbus knew it, claimed 
that the earth was a sphere, an idea that had come down through at 
least 2000 years of tradition. It gave the circumference as about 
25,000 miles, and taught that the temperate zones were inhabitable, 
though only the northern was known to be inhabited, and that one 
could never pass through the heat of the torrid zone to know 
whether the south temperate zone was inhabited or not. These 
things belonged to Columbus, not as inventions or inspirations, but 
rather as mythical truths. Indeed, science had little or nothing 
to do with them. An early historian said of this information : " In 
some future time perhaps our pains may lead us to a knowledge of 
these countries, but all that has hitherto been known must be con- 
sidered as mere fable or invention, and not the fruit of any real 
search or genuine information." 

Every country of East Asia has laid claim to the discovery of 
the New World. Siberia, Tartary, Japan, Malay, and Polynesia, 
each has claimed this great honor for itself; nor can their claims be 
passed over lightly. The narrow Behring Sea just separating the 
two continents, it is no stretch of the imagination to suppose that 
by accident or intention one or all of these peoples at different 
times in ages past may have seen this continent. Though there 
perhaps exist no proofs, there do exist indications that such is true, 
even to colonizing our western coast as far south as South America. 

On the European side there are as good indications. In the 
sixth century King Arthur conquered Iceland, and in the ninth 
century an Irish colony and monks were in possession of the island. 
Indications point to the fact that Iceland was then a much warmer 
and more agreeable place of abode. Columbus, in 1477, visited the 



24 INSTITUTIONAL HISTORY OF UNITED STATES. 

island and found no ice. So a thousand years ago Iceland must 
have been a pleasant home. In 875 Ingolf, a Northman, planted a 
colony on the island, and the Irish left rather than associate Avith 
the Northmen. About fifty years after this time 70,000 people 
were living there, governing tliemselves as in a republic. At this 
time Eric the I\ed was banished from the place and went over to 
Gunnbiorn's Land, so named from its discoverer, who sighted it three 
years before. Eric came back in a short time, and, in order to secure 
colonists for the new country, he described it in glowing terms and 
named it Greenland. Thirty-five ships started to the new land, but 
only fourteen reached the place. For a time immigration was 
steady. In 999 Leif, son of Eric, went back to Iceland and found 
the people had all embraced Christianity. He soon accepted the 
new worship and Avas given a priest, whom he carried back to Green- 
land, and thus introduced Christianity to this continent at this early 
age. Churches were built, ruins of which are standing to this day, 
and both Iceland and Greenland became christianized. In 986 a.d. 
Herjulfson was driven by a storm to the south of Greenland so far 
that it took nine days to sail back. He reported that he came in sight 
of a broad, level country, and the Popular Science Monthly of May, 
1885, gives his route as entering south into the St. Lawrence Gulf 
and passing out through the Strait of Belle-Isle. Fourteen years 
later, Leif started out to explore the country seen by Herjulfson. 
He reached land probably as far north as New England, and named 
it Vinland because he found some grapes growing. Permanent 
settlements were made here, in whicli trade was active and immi- 
grants numerous for three hundred years, and then all were aban- 
doned and forgotten. 

These colonists had all the necessaries of life, horses, sheep, 
oxen, beeves, buildings of stone, etc. Just what was the result of 
these efforts nothing certain is known. About 1350 the Eskimos 
appeared, and tlieir hostility, with sickness and royal tyrann}^, no 
doubt hastened the end. A bull of Pope Nicholas V., published in 
1448, stated that the barbarians had destroyed the colonies thirty 
years before. Another authority gives the last remnant as being 
destroyed by the closing in of ice packs. However it was, the 
Northmen lost all hold on the continent about 1375. 

In the eleventh century the Welsh made a settlement, about 
which there exists little information, and near the same time the 
Arabs started westward on the Atlantic to explore its limits, and 



PRE-COLUMBIAN DISCOVERIES. 25 

reached the Azores, and possibly saw this continent. Italy comes 
in with her story of the Zeni brothers. Near the fourteenth century 
two brothers of Venice, Nicolo and Antonio Zeni, in a voyage on the 
North Atlantic, were wrecked, and lived at a place they called Fris- 
landa. AVhile here, a sailor returned who had been gone twenty-six 
years and who said he was driven by storm to an island called 
Estotiland, where he found people who used Latin books and did 
not speak ISTorse. Farther south he found a region inhabited by 
cannibals, and still farther south a great country of temples and 
cities. This information in its minuteness was sent to the home of 
the Zeni and put in book form with maps in 1558. It has never 
been certainly known what island was Frislanda and it is probably 
mere fiction cited by national pride. A Dutch navigator claimed to 
have discovered Newfoundland in 1463, and a Polander laid claim 
to the discovery of Labrador in 1476, while a Northman claims to 
have been on the South American coast in 1488. 

As has been said, these are shadowy facts, if facts at all, in Pre- 
Columbian discoveries, but some of them are certainly founded on 
truth. Little doubt remains but that persons from many nations 
saw the New World before Columbus did. Evidence points more 
or less clearly to the fact that missionaries roamed over the greater 
part of the Rocky Mountains before 1492, and China lays strong 
claim to her discovery earlier than that date. It is a story that 
need not worry the American student ; for after all facts are sifted 
and all the good preserved, the Old World knew the New One 
through the unparalleled patience of Columbus; and the grandeur 
of our country is due to the untiring energy of the Genoese sailor. 
For some cause unknown to us, all other countries allowed their 
knowledge of the New World to sink back into its former oblivion. 
All other men perhaps secured their honor at too little cost for such 
a gift and too soon forgot it. After the insults, privations, and 
sufferings almost superhuman, of eighteen years, and then the awful 
dangers of such a voyage, the world would hardly be so cruel as to 
forget such a man as Columbus. 



CHAPTER III. 

PRE-COLUMBIAN CIVILIZATION. 

Early Man — Legends and Myths — Toltecs — Aztecs — Their Civiliza- 
tion — Fall — Guatemala and Yucatan — Evidences of Civilization 
— Incas — Their Territory — Origin — Religion — Festivals — Civili- 
zation. 

WE know very little of early man on the Western Continent. 
Before Columbus facts are vague, and no historian has been 
bold enough to place himself on record as speaking unqualifiedly of 
them. Bancroft relates some stories, which hold a place in history 
much like the stories of the Pelasgians of South Europe, or those of 
the iEolians, lonians, and Dorians in their legendary age. 

In the New World as in the Old, giants stand in the dim back- 
ground, around which are legends and myths, dusty with age and 
uncertain with time. A native historian makes the statement that 
the first people were called Ininames, who were swallowed up in a 
great earthquake. A few who escaped this fate were absorbed by 
other early Mexican races called Olmecs and Tlascalans. 

Another author gives us the following story: "The first people 
were giants, who were followers of a demi-god, Votan. They came 
from over the sea to America, and settled at Xibalba, which was 
located some place in Central America. Emigrating nortlnvard, they 
formed a vast empire on the Mexican plateau." 

Bancroft says there was such an empire as given above, and tliat 
from it came, about the time of Christ, the early IMaya natives of 
Yucatan, the Quiches of Guatemala, and Nahuas of Mexico. He also 
says that emigration in primitive times was from the south to the 
north, instead of from the east to the west. The Quiches claimed that 
there was once a great power in Central America, from which there 
went out many migratory bands. One of these settled Guatemala; 
another, Mexico; and anotlier, Yucatan. Another account gives it 
that the early Mexicans came from Asia across the Behring Strait 

26 



PRE-COLUMBIAN CIVILIZATION. 27 

on south to Mexico, aud that they peopled the Mississippi valley 
as Mound-Builders and the Rocky Mountains as Cliff-Dwellers. 
Such are the stories of early life in America. None is very certain, 
but it must be true that hundreds of thousands of people roamed 
over our fair land at least fifteen hundred years before Columbus 
knew it. 

The Toltecs appear in history about the sixth century of the 
Christian era, and form the real beginning of Mexico. For the next 
five hundred years the history of Mexico is very uncertain. Peace 
and war, religious revivals and awful corruption, followed each other 
rapidly until the eleventh century, when the barbaric Chichimecs 
overran the country, which, like Rome, fell in vice and misery. 
The stories of this conquest are marvelous, but possibly true. Mil- 
lions of people are said to have come rushing into the territory. 
They founded towns, made vassals of the conquered Toltecs, formed 
alliances, married with their more civilized victims, and adopted 
many of their customs and arts. The Toltecs were not to go una- 
venged, however; for while their territory was being overrun by 
the Chichimecs, the latter were being threatened by the Aztecs or 
Mexicans, who had settled at Chapultepec. These were a brave 
people and made good warriors. In 1325 they founded Mexico City, 
where, in their religion of human sacrifice, and under rather good 
government, they lived until Cortez destroyed them. 

The Montezumas came into prominence from being the reigning 
family of the Aztecs. It is said that the first of the Montezumas 
was at the head of an army of about 400,000 men. This gives us 
some idea of the population of the country, which must have been 
many millions. The people were prosperous and possessed a good 
degree of civilization. Causeways, canals, aqueducts, temples, 
palaces, gardens, and other evidences of wealth and skill were 
numerous. Vast harems of 2000 women and more were kept by 
the kings. War was carried on either for conquest or to secure 
victims for sacrifice. Their religion required eighteen sacrifices of 
human beings per year. In one war they are said to have captured 
6000 victims for this purpose. The more captives a king secured, 
the more honor he received. 

About the year 1500 there was a lack of energy among the Aztecs. 
Soothsayers and prophets were foretelling direful things, which all 
believed; plagues, famine, and earthquakes were so numerous that 
nature herself threatened destruction. Superstition was draining 



2S INSTITUTIONAL HISTORY OF UNITED STATES. 

the vigor of the nation. Scarcely anything occurred but that an 
evil omen was read into it. Even conquest, the spirit which had 
been so prominent for two hundred years, was dying. Just in this 
period of superstition and degeneracy came the Spaniards. Grijalva 
landed at the present site of Vera Cruz in 1518, and Cortez, the 
*' Attila " of the Mexican world, came in 1519. In his white-winged 
vessels, as the prophecy had said, he appeared. Learning that the 
people were expecting a hero-god of their nation to come to destroy 
them, he claimed to be that god. The story of the Mexican con- 
quest, of Montezuma's death, and the destruction of the Mexican 
nation by Cortez is an old one to the American history student, and 
will not be repeated here. 

There were two other centers of civilization of Middle America, 
— Guatemala and Yucatan. The history of Guatemala goes back 
but a few centuries, but its origin is too much in dispute for more 
than a brief consideration. In the early annals migration followed 
migration. The first very certain traces of the i^eople appeared when 
Montezuma sent a messenger to them to inform them of the landing 
of the Spaniards. They carried on war about as the Aztecs did, and 
possessed a civilization not quite as good as those people had. 

We have no more certain knowledge of the people of Yucatan 
in their primitive condition than of those of Guatemala. Their 
origin is uncertain and mythical. Zamara, to whom all things 
were ascribed, was their creator. This being was a semi-god re- 
sembling the Votanic god. Their civilization was about the same 
in kind and degree as that of the Guatemalans. 

The archaeological remains of Mexico and Central America are 
very numerous. The Pyramid of Cholula was three-fourths of a 
mile in circumference and was about two hundred feet high. It 
was built of adobe brick laid in clay. The purpose of the pyramid 
is a debatable question. Some claim it to have been a memorial ; 
some, a refuge; some, a defense; and others, a place of worship. 
Cortez had his fiercest conflict with the INIontezumas around it, at 
wliich time its demolition began. It now looks much like a natural 
hill, on wliich stands a modern chapel. 

The jMexican calendar stone, which was found by the Spaniards, 
showed a better knowledge of solar time on the part of the Mexi- 
cans than the Spaniards possessed. The court of the Mexican 
museum was a bridge of stone spanning a twenty-foot space. The 
ruins of Yucatan show sculpturing, carving, old manuscripts, hiero- 



PRE-COLTJMBiAN CIVILIZATIOJT. 29 

glyphics, bas-reliefs, etc., which tell of a civilization that one is more 
likely to underestimate than overestimate. At some time more 
definite knowledge of these people may be found, though enough is 
known to certify that a wonderful degree of advancement was reached 
before the days of Columbus. Cortez destroyed abetter civilization 
than he brought with him from his Spanish home. It was different 
from his, of course ; but there certainly could be as much good come 
to the world from the Aztecs as from the Spaniards in 1500. The 
New World needed neither very much, if at all. 

The Incas showed the highest development in civilization among 
American races. Their civilization resulted from welding the prog- 
ress of several tribes, which were all of one race. The Incas came 
into contact with no foreign element. Their country, Peru, was 
favorable to an early civilization if not to a permanent one. The 
dense forests of the great Amazonian valley gave work for the hunter 
and fisherman only; but up on the Andes the plateaus furnished a 
vast plain suitable to a prosperous tillage, and afforded a climate 
rigorous enough to force a civilization from the people inhabiting 
them. In a territory nearly fifteen hundred miles long, extending 
from two degrees north to twenty degrees south of the equator, and 
bounded on the west by the Pacific Ocean, and on the east by the 
forests and plains of the Amazon, the Incas, in the noontide of their 
greatness, made their home. Here they had all temperatures and 
physical outlines. Skill and hardihood were necessary to subsis- 
tence. Like the ancient Greek world, the Incas' country was cut up 
by ranges of mountains, gorges, and rivers, so that many small dis- 
tricts, each leading a more or less isolated existence, made up the 
whole; and this condition led the inhabitants into customs very 
similar to those of the Greeks. To form a union many natural ob- 
stacles had to be overcome, so that such effort was long and hard. 

The Incas consisted at first of four tribes and lived around Lake 
Titicaca. The Incas proper were a strongly built race, about five 
feet four inches in height, and were of a light-brown color. They 
wore no beards. South of this tribe were the Collas, who dwelt in 
stone huts, tended flocks of llamas, and raised potatoes. The Urus 
dwelt among the reeds of the lake and were known as the " lake- 
dwellers." They lived in canoes and fed on fish and potatoes. An 
agricultural tribe lived near the coast. 

The origin of the Incas, like that of the Aztecs and their ances- 
tors, is involved in myth and legend. I shall relate three stories 



30 INSTITUTIONAL HISTORY OF UNITED STATES. 

concerning the origin of their ancestors, the Piruas. First: the 
Deity created men out of stone and clay and placed them under the 
earth. He caused them to pass out from caves, rocks, fountains, 
etc., thus forming different nations. Second: four brothers with 
their four sisters came out of a cave. One brother showed great 
strength in hurling a stone from a sling, and the others grew jealous 
of him. They persuaded him to return into the cave, where they 
closed him in forever. Soon afterwards, another brother was turned 
into a stone idol. The two remaining brothers went to the present 
site of Cuzco and founded a nation. The third legend combines the 
other two partially. After man was created, as the first myth 
relates, a superior being appeared and divided the earth among 
four kings. 

So much for the mythical origin of the Incas. Entering the realm 
of facts, the best authority makes the Piruan dynasty exist as early 
as 470 B.C. It fell into the hands of the Incas, one of the Piruan 
tribes, in 840 a.u. This would give the empire an existence for 
thirteen hundred and ten years under the Piruas and nearly seven 
hundred years under the Incas. History records no such a parallel. 

Tlie religion of the Incas was a worship of a supreme being and 
of ancestors and natural objects. They thought that all things pos- 
sessed souls, to which they might pray for help. It is said that 
this was a belief among the ignorant only, but it is certain that the 
learned as well believed in the double nature of things. Even the 
crops had spiritual doubles which had to be worshiped. The people 
offered their first prayers and invocations to God; then they prayed 
to their ancestors, and to the sun, moon, and thunder to intercede 
for them. They preserved the dead body, clothed as when alive, 
and surrounded it with special furniture and utensils. After several 
centuries mummies have been found in good preservation, even, it 
is said, appearing to be alive. 

The daily life of the people was closely connected with tlieir 
religious ceremonies. The months and seasons were celebrated. 
Astronomical knowledge was necessary to the priests. They had 
names for many of the stars, whose movements were studied, as 
were also those of the sun and moon. The people distinguished 
between the lunar and solar years; and the time of the solstices 
and equinoxes was noted by eight pillars placed on the east and 
west side of the city in doiible rows. Tlie shadows of these Avere 
noticed, and when they fell on a certain line the time was deter- 



PRE-COLUMBIAN CIVILIZATION. 31 

miued. It is thouglit that they also used a zodiac with the twelve 
signs corresponding to their twelve months in the year. They 
added five days to the lunar year to make up the solar year, and 
every fourth year a correction was made. Their year began on the 
22d of June. They celebrated the day with a great festival. 
Three other festivals were given during the year, one at each of 
the equinoxes and one at the winter solstice. 

Raymi, or the festival of the winter solstice, was in honor of 
the sun and came after harvest, when granaries were filled with 
the labors of the year. Sacrifices of llamas, lambs, and the first- 
fruits of the earth were offered, accompanied by prayers, songs, and 
dancing. 

The second festival, called Situa, was held at the vernal equinox, 
the beginning of the rainy period, which was a season of sickness. 
The object of the festival was to drive away diseases and evils. 
The ceremony was interesting. Four hundred armed warriors stood 
in a square, facing the four boundaries of the empire. The priests 
issued from the temples, crying, "Go forth, all evils." This cry 
was taken up by a band of soldiers, who ran until they reached 
another band of warriors, who were waiting for them. These then 
took up the cry and proceeded until the rivers were reached, into 
which they plunged and bathed. The evils were supposed to be 
thus driven into the rivers. All the people bathed at night, after 
which they lighted great fires of straw and marched to the river 
and threw them into it, thus freeing themselves of nocturnal evils. 
These ceremonies, with singing, dancing, and careful eating, made 
up the festival. 

The third festival was at the summer solstice, and was the occa- 
sion of admitting the youths to a rank much like the knighthood 
of Europe. After a severe ordeal of fighting, which required per- 
severance and endurance, and in which many fell, those passing 
through were admitted as warriors. The month following the third 
festival was the time for a strange ceremony, called the water sacri- 
fice. The people preserved all the ashes and cinders of the festivals 
of the year, and, after prayers and sacrifices, freed a great body of 
water, which had been kept back by dams, and allowed it to wash 
away all the remains of the festivals. 

A sacred fire was kept burning throughout the whole year by the 
Virgins of the Sun; and the ceremony of the annual renewal of these 
fires at the autumnal equinox was the fourth festival. The fire 



32 INSTITUTIONAL HISTORY OF UNITED STATES. 

was reproduced by focusing the sun's rays on a metal mirror. There 
were the usual sacrifices and prayers in this festival. 

Besides the national festivals of the Incas, there were also family 
ceremonies and worship. The household gods were numerous and 
held a prominent place. The religion was thus very complicated. 
At the head were a pope and many priests and bishops, all in an 
organization much similar to the Roman Church. 

Intellectually the Incas were superior to the other primitive 
people on the continent. Their literature was mostly destroyed 
when the empire fell. The visual mode of preserving their history 
and literature was by handing down, orally, from one generation to 
another, such things as were popular and useful. Records and ac- 
counts were kept by means of knots in roj^es; and this was so intel- 
ligently done that it then excelled England's system of recording. 

The medical fraternity were intelligent, and that surgery was 
well developed is shown by a trepanned skull which has been found. 
The sovereign was the center of government, knowledge, civilization, 
and religion. Indeed, he was looked upon almost as a deity. Great 
wealth poured in on him, and the greatest deference was paid to him. 

Architecture was superior, as is shown in buildings, walls, drain- 
age, monuments, and ruins of many kinds. Of these space will not 
allow a description. Lands were highly cultivated; the produce 
was divided among the king, priest, and laborers, though not in 
equal shares. All tillable lands were used, and the cities were built 
on rocky and untillable soil. 

By means of irrigation the Incas controlled droughts and even 
wet seasons. The irrigating canals show great skill in their con- 
struction. The result of all this labor was the best of crops. The 
finest potatoes which the world has ever seen were grown. Their 
inaize has never been equaled. Cocoa, cotton, pepper, and fruit were 
peculiar to the region, and all were highly cultivated. Flocks were 
large and numerous. The valuable alpaca wool is the product of the 
Peruvian shepherds. There were excellent roads over and through 
mountains and across ravines, connecting all points of the empire. 

These brief points show partially the real condition of the Incas. 
Recent years are adding rapidly to the knowledge we have already 
gained of them. It is certain that they worked out the completest 
civilization on the new continent up to that time, and are the only 
people wlio have ever succeeded, as far as history shows, in creating 
a successful socialistic government. 



CHAPTER IV. 

JESUITS AND INDIANS. 

Algonquins — Iroquois — Hueons — Women — Customs — Central New York 
— Councils — Crimes — Religions — Jesuits — Nature — Origin — 
Work among the Indians — Difficulties — Patience and Skill — Prog- 
ress — Reception — Assossane — Trials — Neutrals — Success with the 
HuRONS — Disputes — Quebec — College — Montreal — Association of 
Montreal — Hundred Associates — War — Peace — Destruction. 

COLUMBUS discovered a country which rivaled his own or 
adopted land in the warmth of its romance and the cruelty of 
its hate. Clans and nations were being absorbed and were absorbing; 
languages were being lost and originated; and homes were being 
destroyed and rebuilt. Change, rebellions, and revolutions were 
as much a part of the life of the people he discovered as of that of 
the people he left. 

At the discovery of America two great tribes of Indians held the 
territory east of the Mississippi. From the head waters of the 
Mississippi across the country east around the lakes, and north to 
Hudson Bay, then south along the coast to the Carolinas, were the 
great Algonquins. In the heart of this territory, mostly in New 
York, lay the family of Iroquois or Five Nations, surrounded on 
three sides by the Algonquins. The Iroquois was the progressive 
tribe of the continent, and without the intervention of the white 
men would doubtless have conquered its neighbors. The Mohicans, 
Pequods, Narragansetts, Wampanoags, Massachusetts, and Penna- 
cooks were tribes of the Algonquin family, and it was these that 
were so troublesome to the Puritans and Virginians. 

Around the lake which bears their name dwelt the Hurons, an 
Iroquois tribe. They were more civilized than their neighbors, 
had towns and fortifications, and tilled the soil. According to the 
record of the Jesuits, there were 20,000 Hurons in 1639. The 
towns were irregular, and the houses were generally thirty to thirty- 
D 33 



34 INSTITUTIONAL HISTORY OF UNITED STATES. 

five feet square, but sometimes more than two hundred feet long. 
They were built by planting saplings in double rows and bending 
them near together at the top, interlacing them with other branches, 
and covering them with bark. The fire was built in a row down the 
center of the house, around which the Indians slept promiscuously. 
IVIany times twenty families would live in one house of one room, 
filled with dogs, mosquitoes, and fleas. Around the village the 
Indians felled trees, piled bark, and sank palisades, and around all 
made a ditch for a fortification. Private ownership of land was 
not known. Each man used as much as his squaw could till. 
Corn, beans, pumpkins, tobacco, sunflowers, and hemp were raised. 
Every few years the tribe moved in order to secure fresh soil. Corn 
was the chief food. Wampum was the great medium of commerce. 
Tlie dress was of fur in the winter, and often nothing was worn in 
summer except the moccasins. 

It is common and romantic to think of the Indians as possessing 
the highest virtue. But virtue was not known among them, espe- 
cially among the Hurons. There was no bright side to the woman's 
life. A wanton as a girl and a drudge as a wife, she had no peace 
till death ended her misery. Polygamy was the exception, yet the 
utmost freedom in divorce was granted to either party. There was 
also the custom of experimental marriages, lasting for a certain time, 
often but a few days. These temporary marriages were performed 
by the bridegroom giving a piece of wampum to his choice. This 
act did not bind either party to any adherence to virtue, but allowed 
unbounded license. 

In March and April the squaw gathered the wood for the next 
winter, and then began the planting. The men hunted until early 
winter and by Christmas gathered in the village. Though they 
knew nothing of Christmas, it was a great feast time for all. There 
were many kinds of feasts, the most prominent being the social, medi- 
cal, and religious. To the social feast, which was given by some one 
individual, every one had to go. In a religioi;s or medical feast 
each one had to eat all that Avas placed before him regardless of 
quantity ; not to do so was an outrage to the tribe. 

The fiercest barbarians have some law to regulate their own affairs. 
They live together in a peaceable way, that civilized races have never 
done. Among the Indians of Korth America custom was law. There 
was a complete surrender to superiority. Great respect and love 
were manifested toward one another. When an Indian maiden was 



JESUITS AND INDIANS. 35 

married, the women of the tribe furnished her with wood enough for 
a year. If a family were without shelter, the tribe gathered and 
built it a house. No one suffered for food while there was any to 
be had by any one. While there were the two classes, rich and 
poor, and there was private ownership of food, yet it was all freely 
given to those less fortunate. The Indians were sociable among 
themselves, had their dances, made visits, joked, and possessed all 
the social qualities and the means for gratifying the same that the 
white man had. A very strange feature of their civilization is that 
all inheritance was through the female line. The son inherited 
nothing from his father. He might become chief, but never because 
his father was chief before him, though the place was often inherited 
through the mother. All the property of the father went to his 
brothers or to the sons of his sisters, because they Avere descended 
from the same mother. This has been explained as coming from 
the very lax virtue of the race. 

In Central New York were the Mohawks, Oneidas, Onondagas, 
Cayugas, and Senecas, all being of the Iroquois nation. Tradition 
has it that at first they were united, then came discord and disunion. 
Finally a celestial creature came among them advising union for 
defense and conquest. Each of the Five Nations was divided into 
eight clans or families represented by some animal, as the Wolf 
clan, Bear clan. Hawk clan, etc. All the people of a clan claimed 
descent from a single mother. A clan had from eight to fourteen 
sachems, whose duty it was to install chiefs, and form, the laws for 
the government of the tribe. There was also a "Council of Old 
Men," which, though not hereditary, exerted great influence over 
the tribe. Then the young men and the women had a council, which 
could be represented at either the Council of the Old Men or at the 
national council of the sachems. All questions of interest were 
respectfully heard and commented upon. Each orator had not only 
to be able to give exactly the question at issue, but had also to repeat 
accurately the speech of the opponent he wished to answer, so that 
there could be no misunderstanding. After a decision was reached, 
every one was satisfied and acquiesced. 

Crime was not often punished. If a murder were committed, a 
reconciliation was made by means of presents to the clan of the 
murdered man. Thirty presents of value were given if a man were 
murdered, and forty if a woman were. If the presents were refused, 
the murderer was given over to the friends of his victim to be a 



36 INSTITUTIONAL HISTORY OF UNITED STATES. 

slave. Witches were killed by any one at any time. Traitors were 
murdered by some one appointed by the council for that purpose. 

The material world was an intelligent being to the Indian. He 
believed that animals could hear and heed prayers ; that spirits dwelt 
in lakes and rivers; and that even inanimate things could influence 
life. There was awful mystery in the forest and on the mountain. 
Nothing uninfluential existed. Every species of animal life had its 
god, which was a type of itself. The Indians delivered orations over 
the slain body of the deer or bear to propitiate the god of the beast. 
Each Indian also had his manitou, or guardian spirit, and wore about 
him some portion of the body of the same, to which he prayed and 
gave offerings. About the age of fourteen the boy was sent into the 
woods to fast until he found his manitou. The first thing that 
appeared in his dreams was to till that place. 

The great spirit of the Algonquins was named Manabozhe, whose 
father was the west wind, and whose mother was a great-grand- 
daughter of the moon. He was sometimes known as a wolf or a 
bird, but generally as a very large hare. At one time he was the 
destroyer of all evil, at another time the very acme of wickedness. 
There is a legend of the Deluge connected with him that is interest- 
ing. One day while hunting with a wolf, which was his brother, or 
by some accounts his grandson, the wolf fell through the ice and 
was eaten by serpents. To be revenged, Manabozhe turned himself 
into a stump, and slew the king of the serpents. The serpents in 
their anger caused the water of the lake to rise until it covered all 
the earth, and Manabozhe saved himself by climbing a tree and caus- 
ing it to grow as the water rose. As he was almost submerged, he 
asked a loon near by to dive to secure a little mud. It dived, but 
found none ; then a muskrat tried it, secured a small amount, and 
from this the world was made anew. 

Many legends remain about the Creation. The following is taken 
from a noted author on Indian lore. " In the beginning of things 
Manabozhe, in the form of a great hare, was on a raft surrounded 
by animals. He ordered the beaver to dive for mud to form land; it 
did so, but came to the surface senseless, the otter tried and failed; 
the muskrat tried next, and after a day and a night came to the sur- 
face apparently dead but with its paws tightly closed; on opening 
them a grain of sand was found, and from this Manabozhe created 
the earth." Another story has its place as follows : Manabozhe once 
gave a bundle of sticks to an Indian with the order never to open it. 



JESUITS AND INDIANS. 37 

The Indian's wife, however, through curiosity, opened it and out 
flew the precious gift of immortality which had been tied in the 
bundle. 

The Iroquois and Hurons had another explanation for Creation. 
" While yet the earth was water there was a heaven of land and water 
above. Here a spirit, named Ataentsic, and her dog were chasing 
a bear, which fell through a hole down to earth ; the dog followed, 
and Ataentsic, through despair, jumped after them. The animals 
in the water below saw her coming, and called a council to consider 
what to do. The case was left to the beaver, and the beaver gave 
it into the care of the tortoise. The tortoise ordered all the other 
animals to bring mud and put it on his back, and thus formed an 
island on which Ataentsic fell. The back of the tortoise grew into 
a world of plenty, and Ataentsic ruled over it. Two boys were 
born, one of whom killed the other. The surviving boy was known 
as the benevolent spirit, and Ataentsic as the malignant spirit. 
Areskoui was the god of war. There was another god who always 
appeared in dreams. Hiawatha instructed the race socially and 
politically." 

Some writers claim that the Indians had no belief in a supreme 
spirit. Perhaps the best evidence is on that side. At most, it was 
a very barbarous and finite conception of a being, who did not at all 
give out justice, but left all such to subordinate spirits. In the 
Indian language there was no word to express the idea of God. The 
" Manitou " was anything. The Indian believed that each race of 
animals had its king, and through the efforts of the Jesuits this 
thought was broadened until he conceived of a power over all. He 
believed in immortality, and sometimes in a future reward and pun- 
ishment. The brave should pass to the happy hunting-ground, while 
the cowardly should be driven into darkness and gloom to eat ashes 
and serpents. The Hurons collected their dead about every ten 
years and put them into one common pit. It was supposed that 
their immortality began from this time and that the spirits began 
their journey to heaven. 

Dreams were realities to the Indians. They told them of torture 
and misfortune. There were professed dreamers and interpreters 
of dreams. Dream feasts were common. Sorcerers, medicine-men, 
diviners, and all mysterious beings and conditions were very real. 
Superstition bound the people in its agonizing toils. Anything or 
everything might mean life or death. The Indian mind never soared 



38 INSTITUTIONAL HISTORY OF UNITED STATES. 

liigh. Poets dream of the noble red man, but it was only a dream. 
He never knew law nor intellect. When the wind blew, tlie water 
lizard had crawled out of his pool; when the lightning flashed, the 
thunder bird was restless in her nest; when corn failed, the corn 
spirit was angry, and if the beaver could not be caught, it was because 
it was angry that the bones of one of its race had been fed to a dog. 
The Indian god never rose higher than the Indian, and possessed 
bodily form and attributes. 

Such were the people the Jesuits found and came to save. To 
pierce the dark cloud of such superstition and ignorance Avas too 
much even for the never-tiring, ever-sacriflcing Jesuit, whose life 
in North America shall now be a subject for study. 

For three hundred years America was a vast altar of human sac- 
rifice. Men not only died, but what is often worse, suffered without 
dying. Heroes lived and suffered in the dark woods of the land 
before the Pilgrim Fathers set up the first corner-stone of the gov- 
ernment. There were souls, that some men longed to save; they 
dared the sternest dangers, and bore the most awful hardships, that 
they might place a dampened finger on the brow of a dying babe, 
and murmur a few words of confession for a fleeting soul's salvation. 
This is, in short, a history of the Jesuits in America. No name in 
religion carries with it darker traces of darker deeds or higher 
examples of heroic attempts and sacrifices. Believing in the prin- 
ciple tliat man is but a machine in the hands of a superior, who may 
do his will, the Jesuit knows no motive nor desire of his own. He 
does not confine himself to cells and caves, he is not a hermit, he 
does not persecute the body to save the soul, but goes out into every 
corner of the world and persecutes his body to save another's soul. 
He takes the vow of stability and pledges himself to obedience, pov- 
erty, and chastity. The individual is nothing, but the Order is 
everything; the man loses himself in his work. He does not seek 
fame, he is not ambitious for self, but is like a corpse without will 
or understanding. Pie yields himself to the hands of his superiors 
to be molded like wax. One writer likens the Order to a naked 
sword whose hilt is at Rome, and point, everywhere. 

Ignatius Loyola was wounded in battle in 1552 and carried to a 
castle, where he lay and worked out the system and order of the 
mighty Society of Jesus, whose power every corner of the eartli has 
felt. He knew little of books and was an undisturbed believer in 
Romanism. He sought to make mankind the unquestioned tool of 



JESUITS AND INDIANS. 39 

a guiding hand. He was not a monk or hermit, but a man of action ; 
there was no dreaming in the camps of the Jesuits. A greater or 
stranger purpose — to rob a man of his will and yet make him an in- 
strument of great design — was never held. There was no submis- 
sion, that the Jesuit would not make ; there was no task, that he would 
not undertake; there was no statement, that he would not believe 
when made by a superior. He was everywhere : in the king's palace 
controlling the master of nations, in the schoolroom, in the study, 
in the home of the savage, in every known clime, — Europe, Asia, 
Africa, North America, South America, — now a soldier, then a 
priest, a mathematician, a Mohammedan, a Brahmin, a Buddhist, a 
follower of Confucius, using every means that gigantic intellects 
could devise to sweep the world into the Koman Church. He stooped 
to the lowest depths of vice and poverty, and climbed to the highest 
pinnacle of sacrifice and heroism for that one end. 

As soon as the Jesuits were well organized, they turned their 
attention towards the savages of New France, now Canada, and the 
Mississippi valley. It was at Quebec that the first mission was 
started in 1G32. Six Jesuits made up the mission. These six men 
looked out from their hovel on the St. Charles and beheld a continent 
dark with the ignorance, superstition, and savagery of centuries. 
Six men stood out against a world of heathen. No wonder they 
cried, "The harvest is plentiful and the laborers are few." The 
leader of the first mission was La Jeune, and the beginning of the 
Jesuit work in this country was the teaching of an Indian boy and 
negro by him. Neither one could understand the language of the 
others. The greatest obstacle to success was in learning the Indian 
language, especially that of the Algonquins, among whom the Jesuits 
began their work. Sometimes, for a joke, the Indians would teach 
them the words in a wrong meaning, and when they thought they 
were telling of their mission they may have been cursing in the most 
horrible manner. But the language Avas learned in an imperfect 
way, aird then winter came on them with its attendant sufferings. 
La Jeune had but two pupils, whom be taught to pray in Latin, but 
the next summer quite a large class came to him each day. 

The sorcerers among the Indians, being antagonists of the Jesuits 
in their religious beliefs, gave them a great deal of trouble, espe- 
cially in teaching the missionaries the foulest words in the language 
for the best. In numerous petty ways they annoyed the priests until 
La Jeune said he would frequently pass whole days without uttering 



40 INSTITUTIONAL HISTORY OF UNITED STATES. 

a word for fear of saying something that would harm. The wander- 
ing habits of the Algonquins made missionary work very hard among 
them. Being in the far north and living on game entirely, they 
roamed from place to place in search of food, which habit in that 
north latitude caused much suifering in winter time when game was 
scarce. La Jeune and his followers decided to go to the home of the 
Hurons, who were more fixed in their abode and more intelligent 
than the Algonquins. Through this tribe they hoped to save all the 
nations of the country. Hundreds of miles had to be traveled on 
foot and in canoes to reach the Hurons. 

Champlain was at this time at Quebec, and a party of Hurons 
had come down to trade with him. He gave the care of the priests 
into the hands of these traders, who afterwards refused to take 
them. It was one year from this time that three of the party secured 
the help of three Indians for the voyage. For nine hundred miles 
each man was carried in a canoe by a savage, whose only oars were 
his hands, and who could neither speak nor understand a word of 
French. The instruction given the priests for their guidance on this 
journey was as follows: "Love the Indian like a brother. Take a 
flint and steel with you to light their pipes and fires. Try to ea,t 
their food as they cook it, bad and dirty as it is. Do not carry 
water or sand into their canoe. Wear no shoes nor stockings in 
their canoes. Do not make yourself troublesome. Bear their faults 
in silence, and always appear cheerful. Do not let the brim of your 
hat bother them ; perhaps you had better not wear your night-cap. 
Remember that it is Christ and the Cross you are seeking." It was 
thus the French Jesuits worked among the Indians. To their honor 
it may be said they were the only people who sought to help the 
Indian. The Spaniard murdered him, the Englishman neglected 
him, but the Frenchman helped him. 

The Jesuits made good use of the Hurons' ignorance of household 
furniture, especially the clock, which they called the captain. The 
Indians would gather around it and wait for it to strike. When 
the last stroke was made, a priest would order it to stop, and to the 
great wonder of the Indians it obeyed. A hand-mill was another 
wonderful thing, as was also a magnifying glass. Tlie Hurons were 
respectful, but did not take hold of the new faith, saying it was good 
for Frenchmen, but was not their own cnstom. The missionaries 
also had trouble Avith the sorcerers, and when winter came on the 
tribe was too busy with its festivities to pay much attention to the 



JESUITS AND INDIANS. 41 

priests; so with characteristic patience they waited, and the next 
summer began their work. A Jesuit never disturbed a custom nor 
interfered in any practice until the person was won over. By the 
end of the summer season the priests had gained the confidence of 
the Indians, and they labored on with the hope of one day romaniz- 
ing the whole country. The Huron territory became the most hope- 
ful field the Jesuits possessed, and many more priests began to come 
in a few years. In 1636 the smallpox broke out in the tribe and 
carried death to hundreds. With the zeal of their faith, the priests 
visited every village and house, bringing help to the body and soul. 
They allowed no person to die in peace, but to the last breath would 
exact the confession. 

The great difficulty to overcome with the Indians was to satisfy 
them that they would not starve in paradise. They feared that the 
French would not feed them there. One woman, on being asked 
which she would choose, heaven or hell, responded, "Hell, if my 
children are there, as you say." Confession was hard to get from 
them, for they denied having ever sinned. When the priests bap- 
tized an enemy, the Indians feared he would get to heaven first, 
and would not let them in. The baptizing of children just before 
death made the Indians believe that the baptizing killed them, so 
it was forbidden. Every device to baptize was used by the Jesuits. 
In one instance the priest, in order to get near the child, whose 
parents were carefully watching to see it was not baptized, asked to 
give it a little sugared Avater; the infant being asleep, the priest, 
after secretly dipping his finger into the water, asked the mother to 
give it, and they both drew near to see if the child were really 
asleep. Under this pretense the priest laid his dampened finger on 
the babe, mentally gave the confession, and the child was saved. 
Such morality may be doubtful, but when we follow the Jesuits 
through winter's snow and poverty, into loathsome hovels of misery 
and want, ministering and nursing, we must forget something of 
means, and remember more of the purposes and sacrifices which 
attended them. 

The Hurons were induced to build a mission-house. In this was 
a chapel with the altar, crucifix, vessels, and ornaments belonging 
to it. They also represented the last judgment, where dragons 
feasted on the wicked, and demons scourged them into the flames of 
hell. The Indians gathered by the hundreds to see the wonderful 
house. Another important step was gained; for five years the 



42 INSTITUTIONAL HISTORY OF UNITED STATES. 

priests had been baptizing dying babes, but now a strong, full- 
grown man offered himself to be baptized. To the Jesuits it was 
the harvest of their long toil, but their work was not yet over. The 
sorcerers had become jealous of their success. The Indians looked 
on the priests as supernatural beings, who controlled the weather 
and the crops, and even life and death. The sorcerers began to 
make the people believe that the Jesuits were the cause of the pesti- 
lence that had just destroyed so many of them. Their love turned 
to hate, and they passed resolutions of death on the priests, but no 
one would be the executioner. Yet the Jesuits went on. Under 
every pretext they entered the home of the dying, and baptized with 
the skill and adroitness of professionals. They narrowly escaped 
death in many forms, but with a courage truly superhuman they 
labored among these savages, cruel in their ignorance, and snatched 
many a dying soul from the fangs of the " Infernal Wolf." Indeed, 
the missionaries fretted that not one of them was murdered, in 
order that blood might be spilled, and thus the church be made more 
sacred by the "blood of its martyrs." Yet they consoled them- 
selves that the misery and persecution of their lives would at least 
amount to martyrdom. With the snakes, fleas, filth, and dogs, 
which they called little images of hell, and the cold and hunger, 
their lives many times suffered all the pangs of death, perhaps 
more. 

In some places the missionaries were quite a curiosity to tlie 
Indians. Crowds of children would gather around them curiously, 
examining their dress, taking off their shoes and hats and trying 
them on themselves, all through curiosity. The Jesuits lived in 
rude huts filled to sutfocation with smoke, and ate their meals on a 
log for a table. Their food was mostly mush made of pounded corn 
and boiled with smoked fish. It was like the paste used on wall- 
paper. Sometimes a pumpkin or squash Avas baked in the ashes, 
which varied the diet slightly. No salt was to be had, as it was 
impossible to bring food through the territory of the Indians. The 
missionaries did not cultivate the soil, save a small patch of wheat 
for sacramental use. They bought the food of the Indians, trading 
them different articles for it. They rose at four o'clock a.m. from 
their beds of bark, and held mass and devotional services until eight 
o'clock A.M., when they called the Indians in and taught them the 
catechism as they found them in humor for the same; for they never 
intruded themselves on the people except in death and baptism. 



JESUITS AND INDIANS. 43 

They had dinner at two o'clock, when grace was said in the Indian 
language; while eating, one of the Jesuits would read aloud from 
the Bible. At about five o'clock they dismissed the Indians and 
spent the evenings in study, devotional exercises, and considering 
the duties of the day. It was thus day after day, in all seasons, 
that these earnest people gave their lives to their calling and worked 
for a race too low to attract the attention of any other religion or 
nation. 

The principal mission was called Assossane, and was located in 
the Hudson country. There were many local missions near. No 
limits in territory were placed on the work. But at Assossane the 
converts had so increased that twelve carpenters were brought from 
Quebec in 1638 to build a chapel. There were some sixty converts 
at this mission, naked, half-starved, miserable wretches. They 
were converted by peculiar means. Pictures, altars, sacrament, and 
various objects, that would excite their curiosity and superstition, 
were used. The missionaries would make such orders as follows to 
the church at Eome : " Send me one picture of Christ without a 
beard," the Indians being prejudiced against beard- wearing; "also 
send the picture of the Virgin, and souls in perdition." Pictures 
of demons, dragons, flames, etc., were the most used. A picture of 
souls in bliss was not needed so much as one showing a soul in tor- 
ment. Flowers and animals were not allowed in the picture, for 
they detracted from the meaning to the Indians, and only such por- 
traits were used as looked with wide-open eyes straight at the 
beholder. The brightest colorings were put in them to excite the 
interest of the natives. 

These were all means of drawing the Indians to the Jesuits, who 
in turn were ever gentle and kind to them, never assuming control 
of their actions, but always conforming to their customs and habits 
except in some points of morality. The missionaries insisted on 
the converts taking but one wife, and preached against murder and 
cannibalism. The older missionaries advised that the younger ones 
should marry the Indian girls by the formal rites of the church. 
This pleased the Indians very much, though they could not under- 
stand the use of so much formality in the marriage. " If the young 
missionaries want the Indian girls, why do they not come and get 
them and not trouble us so much by their ceremonies?" Thus said 
the Indians, with whom marriage was a very loose and easily broken 
agreement. 



44 INSTITUTIONAL HISTORY OF UNITED STATES. 

The great hindrance to converting the Indians was their super- 
stition, together Avith their natural laziness and pride. They could 
understand very well all that was told them, but were too lazy to 
think, too proud to believe, and scorned to bow to a God in humble 
adoration; and they were so superstitious that every mystery was 
a supernatural phenomenon. 

The Jesuit priests had first for their plans the forming of sepa- 
rate mission posts in every Huron village, and placing them on an 
equality one towards the other; but the danger and risks of division 
were found to be too great, so they established a central mission 
and let others radiate from this center. Here were kept all sup- 
plies, and from here the priests set out on their missions, coming 
back for relief or help of any kind. Here also they gathered the 
converts and kept them from the evil influences of their old life 
and companions. This place was called Santa Marie. The mis- 
sionaries visited the Hurons' towns and named them after some 
patron saint, and then divided the territory into four districts, 
adding the Tobacco Nation for a fifth. To each district there were 
assigned two or more priests. 

To give an idea of the work that all had to do, and the hardships 
of all, the trials of two are here related. Two priests, named Garner 
and Jogues, were assigned the Tobacco Nation for missionary work. 
This was about fifty miles distant from the central mission. It 
was winter, and snow was falling and lay deep on the ground. No 
guides could be secured, and the two men started out alone in the 
trackless, and to them unknown, wilderness. They lost their bear- 
ing and found themselves at night in a great swamp, where they 
slept on bark and boughs, and, as one of them said, " passed a very 
good night." They made their breakfast on a piece of corn-bread 
and started on their journey, walking all day without food. Late 
that evening they reached a miserable outside village of the Tobacco 
Nation. 

Their coming was very unwelcome. The children screamed and 
hid themselves, crying out that the pest and pestilence had come 
again. The Indians had heard of the missionaries, and hated and 
feared them. They closed the doors of their rude bark huts on them, 
but the famished men pushed their way inside, where they found a 
typical Indian household : a half-dozen fires burning on the earthen 
floor, surrounded by old and young, children and dogs, to the number 
of a score or more. The older Indians scowling darkly, children 



JESUITS AND INDIANS. 45 

screaming in fear, and dogs growling threateningly, all made a very 
uninspiring greeting for the men. Indeed the most wonderful thing 
was that the Indians did not at once kill the two men. But down 
in the ashes and filth knelt the two priests and prayed in desperate 
earnestness for the souls of the wretched inmates of the hut. It was 
thus that they were welcomed in all these towns, particularly those 
of the Tobacco Nation. In two of the towns, St. Peter and St. Paul, 
they were successfully fastened out of all the houses, and they had 
naught to do but to turn back into the woods, where tliey were fol- 
lowed by a band of men armed with hatchets to kill them; but the 
darkness and woods favored the missionaries, and they returned 
home safely. 

What was known as the Neutral Nation, lying just north of Lake 
Erie and extending around into New York, was the fiercest tribe on 
the American continent, famed far and wide, both in Indian and 
white circles, for its ferocity. The Indians believed that insanity 
was but the exercise of superhuman power, and that those inflicted 
with it were raised above the common things of life and placed 
beyond the jurisdiction of man. The Neutral Nation had many of 
these beings in their midst, who raved through the villages naked, 
and destroyed all in their way. Many pretended insanity for 
destructive purposes. This, added to the natural ferocity of the 
people, made any attempt to change their natures and customs 
doubly dangerous. Yet these things did not deter the unconquer- 
able zeal of the Jesuits. The nation was about one hundred and 
fifty miles from the mission center. The Hurons feared to kill the 
priests on account of the French at Quebec, so they sought the same 
end by encouraging the Neutrals to do the deed, for which they 
were to receive nine hatchets. 

Everywhere in this nation the missionaries were met with per- 
secution and revilings ; were spit upon and tortured by the maniacs ; 
and had all doors closed to them. But in their councils the Indians 
could not bring themselves to kill the priests, partly through fear 
and partly through superstition. *' Leave our country," said the 
chief, "or we will put you into the kettle and make a feast of you." 
The young men said : " We have had enough of the dark flesh of 
our enemies. We want to try the taste of white meat." After this 
kind of treatment for four months, the two priests left the Nation 
and returned to Santa Marie. Their mission here was apparently 
fruitless} by a miracle almost they were alive. Yet they were not 



46 INSTITUTIONAL HISTORY OF UNITED STATES. 

discouraged. They looked to darker fields and wider territories for 
action. Success seemed never to attend their efforts. They now 
were losing more than they had gained. Their converts at the 
principal mission were decreasing. After seven years' work but 
fifty persons remained in the fold. When the mission was started, 
seven years before, there were sixty. With hardships untold, per- 
secutions unnamed, and zeal unsurpassed, the work was carried on 
under greater perils and into bloodier territory. 

Among the Hurons more success was had. For a few years war 
raged among the tribes and between the Indians and whites. The 
Hurons during this time had become more easy to influence, and 
the Jesuits reaped a wonderful harvest, sometimes converting the 
majority of whole tribes. Churches Avere built, and bells were 
hung, generally in a tree near the church. Every morning the 
people were called to mass by this bell and at evening to prayers. 
On Sunday the services lasted the whole day. Great good was done 
among the people. The practice of burning prisoners was stopped 
by the converts. Upon one occasion, when an Iroquois prisoner 
was being burned, a convert bitterly and earnestly denounced the 
torturers for the deed and preached a sermon against it. At the 
same time he exhorted the burning wretch, who demanded baptism, 
to repentance. The convert, amidst the hoots and jeers of the 
Indians, ran with a cup of water, and in the death agony of the 
victim's horrible sufferings administered the rite of baptism. 

The priests did not preach against torture to any great extent. 
Tlieir mission was the soul, and suffering to the body was too insig- 
nificant for much attention; so while they did not publicly counte- 
nance burning, yet they did not strongly forbid it. But they most 
earnestly denounced and forbade cannibalism. The Indians might 
torture the body, but they must not eat it. The Huron, when he 
became a convert, gave up his feasts and dances, but until he became 
a convert the priesfe very judiciously refrained from breaking up 
the practices. 

Among tlie many stories told to injure the work of the Jesuits, 
was this : A baptized Huron girl died and came to life, Avhen she 
related a horrible story of her treatment by the French in heaven. 
As soon as she reached heaven, she said, she was seized and chained 
to a stake and tormented with all the barbarous cruelty the French 
could invent. "They did this," she said, "to all the Hurons; that 
the inhabitants of heaven took their recreation in tormenting the 



JESUITS AND INDIANS. 47 

Hurons who came to their heaven; that the Jesuits had been sent 
among them to baptize them, so they might go to heaven to serve 
as entertainment for Jesuit cruelty." After she had been tortured 
a long time, the story went, an unknown friend of the girl showed 
her a hidden path back to earth that she might warn her people of 
their fate in believing the Jesuits. To the superstitious mind of the 
Indians this story had a great influence and was hard to overcome. 

To show the manner of settling disputes and damages between 
the Jesuits and Hurons, the following is related: "In the woods 
near the mission of Santa Marie a young man in the employ of the 
mission was murdered by some Indians. Of course it would have 
been natural to demand blood for blood, but according to the charac- 
teristic nature of the Jesuits they simply demanded Huron justice, 
— giving presents to the friends of the murdered man until justice 
was appeased. The Hurons called the grand council, to which they 
invited the missionaries, when an aged orator of the tribe rose, 
and in eloquent terms said: 'My brother, behold all the tribes of 
our league assembled,' naming them one by one. 'We are but a 
handful; you are the prop and stay of this nation. A thunderbolt 
has fallen from the sky and rent a chasm in the earth. We shall 
fall into it if you do not support us. Take pity on us. We are 
here not so much to speak as to weep over our loss and yours. Our 
country is but a skeleton, without flesh, veins, sinews, or arteries ; 
and its bones hang together by a thread. This thread is broken by 
the blow that has fallen on the head of your nephew, for whom we 
weep. It was the demon of hell who placed the hatchet in the 
murderer's hand. Was it you, Sun, who led him to do this deed? 
Why did you not darken your light, that he might be stricken with 
horror at his crime? Were you his accomplice? No, for he walked 
in darkness, and did not see where he struck. He thought, this 
wretched murderer, that he aimed at the head of a young French- 
man, but the blow fell upon his country and gave it a death wound. 
The earth opens to receive the body of the innocent victim, and we 
shall be swallowed up in the chasm; for we are all guilty. The 
Iroquois rejoice at his death and celebrate it as a triumph, for they 
see that our weapons are turned against each other, and know well 
that our nation is near its end. 

'"Brother, take pity on this nation. You alone can restore it to 
life. It is for you to gather up all these scattered bones and close 
this chasm that opens to engulf us. Take pity on your country. I 



48 INSTITUTIONAL HISTORY OF UNITED STATES. 

call it yours, for you are the masters of it; and we are come here 
like criminals to receive your sentence, if you will not show us 
mercy. Pity those who condemn themselves and come to ask for- 
giveness. It is you who have given strength to the nation by dwell- 
ing with it, and if you leave us we shall be like a wisp of straw 
torn from the ground to be the sport of the wind. This country is 
an island drifting on the waters, for the first storm to overwhelm 
and sink. Make it fast again to its foundation, and posterity will 
never forget to praise you. 

"'When we first heard of the murder, we could do nothing but 
weep, and we aro ready to receive your orders and comply with your 
demands. Speak, then, and ask what satisfaction you will, for our 
lives and our possessions are yours; and even if we rob our children 
to satisfy you, we will tell them that it is not of you that they have 
to complain, but of him whose crime has made us all guilty. Our 
anger is against him, but for you we feel nothing but love. He 
destroyed our lives, and you will restore them if you will but speak 
and tell us what you will have us do.' " 

The speech was replied to, and then the French gave a bundle 
of sticks, signifying that as many presents would be required as 
sticks in the bundle. An equal number of sticks was given to each 
tribe, and the council adjourned to collect the presents. No assess- 
ment was made; each Indian gave what he wished, and there was 
no attempt to punish the murderer. His shame and disgrace arose 
from his people being required to pay damages for his deed. "When 
all the presents were gathered, another assembly Avas called. The 
Indians came loaded with presents, worthless in any eye save their 
own. In giving the presents they presented one piece for every 
clause in the presentation si^eech, and then nine were given to repre- 
sent the scaffold, crosspieces, and pillow of the murdered man, fol- 
lowed by eight to represent the eight Huron tribes. The French 
then made a present to the Indians, and the next day the grand 
ceremony took place when the fifty presents of the atonement were 
made. 

Quebec was the " Garden of Eden " to the Jesuits. It was the 
ambition of the French Jesuits to go to the wilds of Canada and 
reap the vast harvest of souls. Quebec was the stronghold and 
headquarters. The letters and pamphlets of the Jesuits at Quebec 
were read throughout all France, and kindled an ambition in many 
hearts. Delicate women gave their lives to the cause. In one con- 



JESUITS AND INDIANS. 49 

vent thirteen nuns devoted themselves to converting the Indian 
women and children. A school was founded, and a hospital was 
built for the natives. The French king joined hands with the 
Jesuits and linked Church and State in one common cause. Religion 
became a fashion, and missionary work a fad. The Jesuits were in 
the noonday of their popularity, and all power in America, both 
civil and religious, was given them. Beyond them there was no 
appeal. 

In 1640 a college and seminary were started. Aside from the 
fur trade, all the life of Quebec was taken up in its missions, con- 
vents, hospitals, and schools. The company that had agreed to 
settle all this territory was known as the Hundred Associates, which 
bound itself to settle four thousand colonists in the country before 
1643. But the Jesuits had such absolute control that, desiring none 
but Catholics, the number was not made up. The company had to 
provide religious worship, which was directed by the priests. From 
a worldly view the colony was a failure, but religiously if was a 
great success. It was here it was said " that the atmosphere was 
almost celestial. In this climate one learns perfectly to seek God." 
Another said, " If one who dies in this country goes to perdition, he 
is doubly guilty." The Jesuits turned even their amusements into 
instruments for saving souls. Holidays and birthdays of princes 
were commemorated in a religious way. The mediaeval spirit of 
Christianity was resurrected, and the Jesuits hoped to build a vast 
religious monarchy on the foundations of Quebec. 

It may be an interesting fact to know the origin of the different 
religious institutions at Quebec, especially as they were begun before 
there were many people in the colony. The priests first advocated 
a seminary for Indian boys, and the civil authorities thought it a 
good plan ; for by such means they could, when necessary, hold the 
boys as hostages for the good behavior of the parents. In 1669 a 
wealthy and childless widow of France, enthused with the mission- 
ary spirit, founded a seminary for Indian girls in Canada. This 
woman, through a sham marriage and other deeds not of the nicest 
honor, secured a large fortune, which she devoted to the Jesuit 
cause in Canada. Another, called the "holy woman," because she 
claimed to be the bride of Christ, was made superior of the new 
convent. These two women, with a third, took possession of a 
massive convent of stone and began a work creditable in its zeal and 
purpose. 

B 



50 INSTITUTIONAL HISTORY OF UNITED STATES. 

Montreal soon became a worthy rival of Quebec. It was founded 
particularly for religious purposes and soon became, from its natural 
position, a favorite home for the priests and nuns. Its origin is 
strange. The Jesuits believed that God often spoke to men, and 
many a priest and nun had come to Canada on an inspiration direct 
from God. A tax-receiver of Anjou, a devotee and mystic, who 
persecuted himself by beating his shoulders with heavy chains and 
wearing a belt with twelve hundred sharp points, and by tormenting 
himself in various other ways, heard a voice in his devotions order- 
ing him to found a new order of nuns to control a hospital on the 
Montreal island, in Canada. But there were no civilized people 
there at that time, and it would be necessary to send out a colony, 
whicli the tax-gatherer had not the means to do. Near the same 
time a young priest of Pau had the same kind of an order, and it is 
said that these two men, wholly ignorant of Canadian geography, 
became suddenly possessed of full knowledge of the country. Soon 
after these incidents they met, and knew each otlier at first siglit, 
even to the revelation each had received. They immediately laid 
plans and began work in earnest. It was their object to found at 
Montreal three religious communities: one to convert the Indians; 
one of nuns to nurse the sick; and the third, of nuns to teach the 
children. But to get the colony was the question. Both men were 
poor, but the Jesuits never faltered before an obstacle. Six men 
formed a society, called the Notre Dame de Montreal Society, and 
raised f 75,000 to plant the colony. The society pledged itself to 
seek no returns for the money expended. 

Quebec was at this time in serious danger from the Iroquois, and 
Montreal, being wholly unprotected and in the center of the Iroquois 
nation, which held the French in bitterest hatred because of Cham- 
plain, was certainly a dangerous place to seek to plant a mission. 
The new company was now called the Association of IMontreal, and 
a large per cent, of the money in this enterprise, as in the others, 
was furnished by women of France. Indeed, in the settlement and 
convents at Montreal island a woman was one of the moving factors. 
This woman, Jean JVIance, made a vow of perpetual chastity, and 
was early called to Canadian territory. She started to the future 
settlement with the forty men who were to begin the work, but 
refused to complete the journey until two of the men took with them 
their Avives. A young girl, also enthused over missionary work, 
escaped from her relatives and embarked on one of the vessels. 



JESUITS AND INDIANS. 51 

Thus did forty men and four -women start on their voyage to the 
home of the " dark demon " of Canada. They reached Quebec too 
late in the season to go on to the island, and remained at that port 
during the winter. Here there was a great deal of jealousy and 
envy shown them, and every means used to induce them to stay in 
Quebec, but to no avail. They all felt, as one of the company said, 
"I would go to Montreal if every tree were an Iroquois." 

The people of Quebec in many cases refused to shelter them. 
Starvation almost overtook them through the crazy notions of one of 
the women, who had charge of the poultry and domestic animals. 
She would inquire of the animals if they loved God, and when they 
did not answer, she would kill them, saying their impiety deserved 
no better fate. The next spring the little band left Quebec for the 
unknown wilds of their new home, where danger and death lurked 
behind every tree, and on the seventeenth day of May, 1642, they 
landed on the island, where the city of Montreal began its existence 
in the zeal of religious fanaticism. They were not discovered by 
the Iroquois before they had made themselves safe from an attack. 
Things prospered the first season, but the next winter a flood almost 
destroyed all that had been done. The chief had made a vow during 
the rise of the flood that if it should recede without destroying the 
people, he would plant a cross on the summit of the mountain, 
carrying it up there on his own shoulders, which he proceeded to do 
after the flood passed away. This was a great worshiping place 
ever after. They were reinforced in 1643 by a company from 
home, with whom was a woman who had made a vow on her death- 
bed, as she thought, to spend the rest of her life in Canada among 
the heathen if spared. She immediately became strong, and soon 
after set out for Montreal, and did great service for her religion. 

By this time the affairs at Quebec had changed. The company 
of the Hundred Associates had given their entire resources and 
debts to the people, who were to give a certain amount of fur per 
year to the company in return. In 1647 they established a council 
composed of a governor-general, the superior of the Jesuits, and the 
governor of Montreal, who were invested with all power, — judicial, 
legislative, and executive. The expense of defending the town 
depended on the governor-general, who often allowed the defense to 
grow very weak. On this account a new organization was made, 
consisting of a governor, superior of the Jesuits, and three princi- 
pal inhabitants, who were elected every three years by the council 



52 INSTITUTIONAL HISTORY OF UNITED STATES. 

and syndics. The syndics were officers elected by the inhabitants 
of the community from which they came. Quebec was now a colony 
of merchants, or a corporation which directed its own affairs. The 
place liad many hospitals, convents, and school buildings, and pos- 
sessed an air of progress, while INIontreal seemed losing its energy. 

In 1641 New France meant Quebec, Montreal, and Three Kivers, 
with a few scattered missions, — all together about three hundred 
people. Over these few people at this time could be seen the dark 
cloud of war. Thirty-two years before, Champlain had attacked the 
fierce and warlike Iroquois, and they had never forgotten it. All 
these years they but waited their opportunity. That one rash act of 
Champlain in 1609 was the death-blow to French rule in the new 
continent. The Dutch traders were in full sympathy with the 
Iroquois, and supplied them with arms and ammunition. The Iro- 
quois tribes were a confederation of five nations, with a government 
more or less democratic, and with chiefs partly elective and partly 
hereditary. The Mohawk division was the fiercest of the nation 
and the one in hostilities with the French. 

One morning in August, 1642, twelve canoes of Jesuits and 
Hurons, among whom the Jesuits mostly worked, were ascending 
the river going up to a Huron mission. When near some small 
islands, a warwhoop arose out of the surrounding forest, and many 
Iroquois canoes pushed out from their hiding-places and fell upon 
the Jesuits. The Hurons fled in a cowardly panic, and the French 
could not long hold out. The Jesuits would not desert their friends, 
so they were all captured, with many of the Hurons. Even in tliis 
condition they did not forget their work, but immediately began 
baptizing some of the captives, preparing them for the certain death 
awaiting them. In the excitement an Indian was killed by a Jesuit, 
upon which a number of Indians seized a few of the missionaries, 
tore out their finger nails, and gnawed their fingers like dogs. Two 
lines of men were formed, between which the captives were made to 
pass, being beaten, some of them almost to death; fire was set to 
them, their hair and beard were pulled out, and wounds opened anew. 

Thus in such torment the captives were taken south to the 
Mohawk towns, where the torture was renewed. The missionaries 
here received more horrible treatment than before. The fingers 
were cut off with clam shells, one by one. At night they were tied 
to the ground, and the children poured live coals and red-hot ashes 
on the quivering Avounds. These horrible sufferings the Jesuits 



JESUITS AND INDIANS. 53 

named "The Road to Paradise." While one of the missionaries 
was hanging by his wrists, two Hurons were brought in for torture 
to death. In strange pity the missionary was at last cut down near 
death's door and an ear of green corn thrown him to eat. On this 
ear a few drops of rain were clinging. The Jesuit shook the drops 
into his hand and with them baptized the two Hurons. In the 
very gates of death the missionaries never forgot their calling. 
One of these men met his death because he persisted in teaching 
and baptizing the Indian children. Another, named Jaques, passed 
through torments of demons and bore them like a god. He finally, 
amid all his suffering, was taken to Fort Orange (now Albany), a 
Dutch trading-post owned hj Eensselaer, where a chance to escape 
was given him. He took one night in prayer to decide whether to 
go or not. He decided to go the next morning, and by the aid of 
the Dutch, and after six weeks' suffering, reached New York City, 
and in 1644 reached his home in France, where priests and ladies 
of the court kissed the lacerated hands and did him great homage. 

All this time war was going on among the Indians, and with 
much suffering the Jesuits were working. It was priesthood against 
Iroquois. The latter were everywhere ; no man was safe out of his 
home. One priest said : " I had as lief be beset by goblins as Iro- 
quois. One is as invisible as the other. Our people on the Riche- 
lieu and at Montreal are kept in a closer confinement than ever were 
monks or nuns in convents." The Hurons and Algonquins were 
being decimated. Many were captured by the Iroquois and eaten, 
and others suffered such horrible cruelties that the track of an 
Iroquois moccasin drove them in terror to the forts. Babes were 
placed over fires and burned to death before the mother's eyes. 
Women suffered every torture fiends could invent, more than dying 
many times before death at last relieved them. The Iroquois were 
the scourge of the infant church. A priest named Bressani wrote 
to Rome from the Iroquois country : " I do not know if your Pater- 
nity will recognize the handwriting of one whom you once knew 
very well. This letter is ill written because the writer has only 
one finger of his right hand left entire and cannot prevent the blood 
from his wounds, which are still open, staining the paper. His 
ink is gunpowder mixed with water and his table is the earth." 
The writer then proceeded to tell further of his sufferings and tor- 
ture, such as being made to walk on hot stones, burning off his 
fingers one joint at a time, and suffering other such things as only 



54 INSTITUTIONAL HISTORY OF UNITED STATES. 

an Indian could think of. These horrible persecutions and the 
hardships that naturally came from a new and savage world made 
the Jesuit's path full of suffering and misery, but never retarded 
his zeal. 

But now, 1645, there seemed a silver lining to the cloud, though 
it lasted but a short time. A temporary peace was brought about 
in the following manner. The Hurous and Algonquins captured 
a few Iroquois and made ready to return all the suffering that had 
been received from that nation; but Jesuit teaching had done its 
work, and Jesuit influence did not fail here. The Iroquois were 
saved from torture and instead were treated with the greatest cour- 
tesy. The Jesuits would allow no torturing, though the Indians 
begged to "caress," as they called it, their enemies. The governor 
of Canada called an assembly and set the Indians free, upon which 
one of them arose and said : " Ononto, I am saved from the fire ; my 
body is delivered from death. You have given me life. I thank 
you for it. I will never forget it. All my country will be grateful 
to you. The earth will be bright, the river calm and smooth. The 
shadow is before my eyes no longer. You are good. We are bad, 
but our anger is gone. I have no heart but for peace and rejoicing." 
Seizing a hatchet, he threw it into the fire, saying: "Thus I throAv 
down my anger. Thus I cast away the weapons of blood. Farewell, 
war. Now I am your friend forever." 

Ambassadors met from all the tribes, and peace was restored in 
a grand council with many speeches and gifts. • These orators of 
nature could be eloquent and pathetic, could move to anger or pity. 
They were great actors as well as forcible speakers. Now for the 
first time, in nearly forty years, there seemed to be perfect peace 
among all these people, and, though many fears remained with the 
French, they still had hope that at last their nearly half century's 
work was established. But Indian peace and forgiveness are not 
strong, and the traditional hate between the Algonquins and Iroquois 
could not be forgotten even by the influence of the missionaries, who 
went to these tribes to preserve the treaty. 

Among the Iroquois was the Jesuit Jogues, the greatest priest 
on the continent. On leaving the tribe for a short time, he left with 
them a box of personal trinkets, Avhich they came to believe held 
some sort of witchcraft, as the caterpillars were eating up the corn, 
and sickness prevailed throughout the tribe. The result was that 
the missionaries were captured, tortured, and killed, and the war 



JESUITS AND INDIANS. 55 

again commenced, 1646. The same horrible butchery went on, the 
same suffering was undergone. It is needless to relate it again. 
Through it all one little band hoped on, even courted the dangers 
of the missions and sought death by the tomahawk or torture by 
Indian ingenuity. They worked on, nor was their influence unfelt 
in all the northern part of the continent. The wars of the next 
century were not nearly so cruel nor barbarous because of the work 
of the Jesuits in Canada and the Northern Colonies in the seven- 
teenth century. 

The missions failed, it is true, because the Indians ceased to 
exist; but they were raised a degree higher in civilization by Jesuit 
zeal. Civilization had touched the hem of their garments, though 
the two great tribes were tearing at each other's throats. It was war 
to the ruin of one or both tribes. The Hiirons suffered most; pesti- 
lence and war together left them but a remnant of their old strength 
and courage. An effort was made to turn the whole nation against 
the Mohawks, but it was a failure. Another treaty of peace was 
attempted, but that too failed ; there was nothing left but ruin. In 
1647 a party of Hurons dared to go to the French settlements for 
trade and were attacked, but defeated the Iroquois. A little later 
the town of St. Joseph was attacked and burned to ashes, many 
Indians and priests being murdered. Another town soon met the 
same fate; the Hurons were gasping their last breath, and with 
them the Jesuit hopes were dying. The next spring St. Louis was 
burned. No heart seemed left the Hurons ; they lay quietly and 
watched their doom fall, and in one fierce battle their knell was 
sounded. Ruined as a tribe, their towns burned, they sought homes 
in other tribes, and the Huron nation ceased to exist. Famine and 
disease now took up the work and made the wreck more complete. 

The Hurons were agriculturalists, and having been driven from 
one place to another so rapidly, they had had no time to raise food; 
so starvation added its woes to their other miseries. On the St. 
Charles at New Lorette live the last of the Hurons, mingling their 
blood with the French, and so fading gradually away and ceasing 
existence entirely. But what of their victors? The whoop of the 
Iroquois became the lion's roar in the jungle. All animals alike 
quaked in fear upon hearing it. They made war against the Fries 
and utterly destroyed them. The Andartes were worthy foes for a 
short time, but they met a like fate with the others. Peace now 
reigned, but it was the peace of solitude. There were no more 



56 INSTITUTIONAL HISTORY OF UNITED STATES. 

worlds to conquer for the Iroquois. In between the French and 
English colonies like a wedge lived these people, masters of the 
Indian world. How merciful that they fought each other and not 
the whites ! Iroquois fierceness destroyed Jesuit hopes in America 
and thereby the French control. 

In these dark centuries of America's early life where so much 
is hidden, what a tragedy was played! What a scene of crime, 
bloodshed, zeal, fanaticism, lost hopes, and human suffering ! 
There sounded the death-knell of religious rule and intoleration on 
the continent. The Jesuit dream of a vast empire doing the will 
of the church entire might have become a reality but for the cruelty 
and hate of the Iroquois. The Mississippi valley now would be 
ruled by priests instead of a great, free people, and when the dark 
days of 1776 had come, it would have been liberty against liichelieu 
and Loyola instead of one England and liberty fighting another. 
Liberty owes her debt to the Iroquois. Wondrous are the ways of 
destiny. 



CHAPTER V. 

COLONIAL GOVERNMENT. 

Forms — London Company — Government of Virginia until 1624 — Royal 
Rule — Judiciary — Local Government — Massachusetts Company — 
Government — Judiciary — Other New England Colonies — New 
York — Patroons — English and Dutch Contest — French — Govern- 
ment OF New York — Maryland — Connecticut — Rhode Island — 
Delaware — North Carolina — New Jersey — South Carolina — 
Pennsylvania — Georgia. 

THE government of the different colonies was much the same 
in nature, though there were three classes, Royal, — Proprietary, 
and Charter. The people had nearly equal rights under each of 
these. It was not long after settlement until each colony had 
its representative form of government under one or the other of 
these classes. In the Charter Colonies — Massachusetts, Rhode 
Island, and Connecticut — the people were given the privilege of 
governing themselves, which they did under a pure republican 
system. In the Proprietary Colonies — Pennsylvania, Delaware, 
and Maryland — the proprietor appointed the upper house and 
the governor and the people elected the lower house. It was 
the same in the Royal Colonies — Virginia, North Carolina, South 
Carolina, Georgia, New Jersey, New York, and New Hampshire 
— except that the king appointed the upper house and governor. 

In 1606 the king of England gave to two companies, the London 
and Plymouth, all the territory between the thirty-fourth and forty- 
fifth degrees north latitude as follows : the London Company was to 
make settlements from 34 degrees to 41 degrees ; and the Plymouth, 
from 38 degrees to 45 degrees. But neither company was to form 
a settlement within one hundred miles of the other. All the terri- 
tory was called Virginia at first, but later that part belonging to 
the London Company was given that name. 

The king appointed a Superior Council of thirteen members for 

67 



58 INSTITUTIONAL HISTORY OF UNITED STATES. 

Virginia, to reside in London, and the latter appointed thirteen 
resident members to form the Inferior Council. The latter council 
chose its own president and tried all cases of law that were not 
jury cases. The Superior Council had the general management 
of the colony. The company had the right to coin money for its 
own use, and was to receive four-fifths of all gold and fourteen- 
fifteenths of all copper, mined; the remainder was to go to the 
king. It was to collect a revenue for twenty-one years from all 
the vessels entering its ports. For five years the productions of 
the soil were to remain a common stock from which the colonists 
were to live, and the company Avas to receive what was left after 
the living was deducted. 

The great principle of the charter, although ruthlessly disre- 
garded, was the following: "All and every the persons, being 
our subjects, which shall dwell and inhabit within every or any 
of said colonies and plantations, and every of their children 
which shall happen to be born within the limit precincts of 
the said several colonies and plantations, shall have and enjoy 
all liberties, franchises, and immunities within any of our other 
dominions, to all intents and purposes as if they had been abid- 
ing and born within this our realm of England." The colonists 
were given the same rights as Englishmen at home, and although 
the Crown in future directions abused these rights, the time came 
when the people remembered them. 

In 1G09 a second charter was given the company, abolishing 
the Inferior Council and allowing the Supreme Council to appoint 
a governor instead. In 1612 another charter was granted giving 
the stockholders the right to govern the colony. They held meet- 
ings weekly, or oftener if necessary, for minor affairs, and held 
four "Great and General Courts" yearly to provide for more 
important things. The stockholders appointed a governor and 
council to reside in the colony. The colonists petitioned the 
company, in 1618, to remove Governor Argall, a tyrant of greatest 
severity. Not only did the company remove him, but went further 
and granted the colonists representation. Thus was formed the 
House of Burgesses in 1619; and in 1621 the company granted 
a constitution to the peoi)le, insuring them their rights forever. 

Under the new governnu^nt the company appointed the governor 
and council of state, and the people elected the lower house. The 
council of state and House of Burgesses acted together for a time, 



COLONIAL GOVERNMENT. 59 

and formed tlie General Assembly, whose laws had to be ratified by 
the company at home in its " General Courts " ; also the laws of the 
company had to be ratified by the Assembly to make them valid. 
The king, growing jealous of such liberal government, destroyed 
the company in 1624, and placed Virginia under royal rule, though 
he did not destroy the form of government. He took the place 
of the company in appointing the governor and council of state. 
In the first Assembly under royal rule the right of taxation rested 
in the lower house. The governor had much power; he was an 
executive officer, commander of the militia, admiral of the navy, 
lord chancellor, chief-justice, and really bishop. He had veto 
power; could convoke, prorogue, and dissolve the Assembly; and 
appointed sheriffs and coroners for the counties. In 1680 the 
council of state ceased to sit with the lower house and formed 
an upper house or Senate. There were twelve members of this 
branch of the legislature, and they soon secured an equal share 
in legislative work. They became judges, colonels of counties, 
naval officers, collectors of revenues, and farmers of quit-rents. 
An act, to become a law, had to pass both legislative houses, and 
be signed by both the governor and king. 

The Judicial Department of Virginia originated soon after the 
House of Burgesses was organized. Until 1621 cases were tried 
by the governor and couucil. In 1622 inferior courts were organ- 
ized, and these with quarter-sessions of the governor and council 
made up the judicial system principally until 1776. The governor 
and council formed an appellate court. County Courts were estab- 
lished in 1765, sitting once a month. The governor appointed the 
judges, of whom there were eight. All criminal cases except capi- 
tal ones were tried by these courts, which had final jurisdiction 
in all cases involving less than twenty pounds. They were also 
courts of probate. In cases involving more than twenty pounds, 
an appeal could be taken to the General Court, consisting of the 
governor and five members of the council ; and in cases involving 
more than five hundred pounds, an appeal could be made to the 
king. In all criminal cases, trial by jury was allowed and might 
be demanded in all other cases. The sheriff selected the jury, 
consisting of six of the "best gentlemen" of the country. A jury- 
man had to be a freeholder to the value of one hundred pounds. 
Lawyers played no part in cases until near the Revolution. On 
account of unscrupulous lawyers, fees were limited, license to 



60 INSTITUTIONAL HISTORY OF UNITED STATES. 

practice was necessary, and " Mercenary " attorneys were expelled. 
For a short time after 1646 lawyers' fees were prohibited. In all 
the colonies the common law of England was the law. 

Local government in the South differed from that in the North. 
In the New England colonies it was town government, while in 
the South the county was the basis. Agriculture being the voca- 
tion, the plantation was the factor of prominence, instead of the 
town, as in New England, where commerce was the principal line 
of w^ork. At the head of each county in the South was a lieutenant 
appointed l)y the governor; there was also a sheriff appointed by 
the same officer, but nominated by the county judge. The lieu- 
tenant was general executor of the county, and chief of the military 
forces. The justices presided over the county courts, levied county 
taxes, appointed surveyors, and divided the county into precincts. 

MASSACHUSETTS. 

In 1620 a new company was organized in England, called " The 
Council Established at Plymouth, in the County of Devon, for the 
Planting, Ruling, Ordering, and Governing New England in America." 
The Plymov;th Company, spoken of above, failed after planting the 
colony of Sabine at the mouth of the Kennebec River. This new 
company was an incorporation of the old Plymouth Company, with a 
few additional rights given it, to place its settlements on an equal 
footing with the Virginia colony. The privilege of fishing being 
the main object of settlement, it was made a strong princii^le of the 
charter. The company came into disrepute as a monopoly, and gave 
up its charter in 1625. 

In 1628 a new company was formed, called the " London Planta- 
tion of Massachusetts Bay in New England," which was given the 
right to establish a colony on that soil, and manage the affairs of the 
same. Endicott was appointed first governor. While it was the in- 
tention of the charter that the real government should be in Eng- 
land, yet in a short time it was moved to Massachusetts and silently 
took the place of the local government with John AVinthrop as 
governor. 

The charter gave the freemen the right to elect, annually, a gov- 
ernor, deputy governor, and eighteen assistants, who should make the 
laws for the government of the colony. Freemen meant, under the 
decision of the court, those belonging to the church ; and citizenship 



COLONIAL GOVERNMENT. 61 

was not broadened until 1691. Provisions were made for a court- 
general, with both judicial and legislative powers. The Plymouth 
people governed themselves according to the Compact formed on 
the Mayflower, until 1691, when they and the Massachusetts Bay 
Colony were united and governed together. 

The freemen of Massachusetts Bay Colony elected two delegates 
from each plantation in 1632 to confer with the eighteen assistants 
about raising a " public stock." This was done because in 1630 the 
company had given almost the entire government into the hands of 
the assistants, who were officers for life unless removed for cause, 
and were given the right to continue the governor and deputy 
governor in office. They levied a tax for fortifications in 1632, to 
which the freemen objected and, to prevent it, resumed the right of 
electing a governor, and also elected the delegates mentioned above, 
thus originating the lower house of the Legislative Department. 

By 1634 the colony had increased to four thousand people in 
sixteen towns, who then established the representative form of gov- 
ernment with the two houses and a governor, all of whom they 
elected annually. In 1642 the Oath of Allegiance to the king, taken 
by the magistrates, was abandoned; and in 1643 a division of the two 
branches of the Legislative Department was permanently made, and 
counties were established. Also in this year was formed the New 
England Confederation called the " United Colonies of New England." 
Rhode Island and Maine were excluded from the union. The gov- 
ernment continued in this way until 1686, when Audros was sent 
over as governor-general of the American colonies. 

Massachusetts, having always been a leader in opposition to the 
king, and being the most independent of the colonies, was made to 
suffer most by Andros. He instituted an absolute rule until the 
reign of William and Mary, 1691, when Massachusetts was given a 
new charter, under which the king appointed the governor, deputy, 
and secretary, who in turn appointed the judiciary. The assent of 
the governor was necessary to laws, and he could dissolve, sum- 
mons, and prorogue the Assembly. The upper house, or council, was 
chosen by the lower house, and approved by the governor ; and the 
lower house, which had the sole power of taxation, was elected by 
the people. The religious test of citizenship was abolished and 
replaced by a property qualification. Plymouth was annexed to the 
Massachusetts Bay Colony, as were also Maine and Nova Scotia. There 
was no material change made in the government from 1691 to 1776. 



62 INSTITUTIONAL HISTORY OF UNITED STATES. 

The judicial system was practically the same in all the New 
England colonies. In Massachusetts, under the original charter, 
the people assumed the right to elect judges, as they did all other 
officers. The General Court (governor, deputy, and two legislative 
houses) exercised the judicial and legislative authority and decided 
cases by a majority vote. Inferior courts Avere established in 1639, 
leaving ajDpellate powers to the General Court in certain cases. The 
Court of Assistants, composed of the governor, deputy, and assistants, 
was the highest court. It had appellate jurisdiction, tried cases of 
divorce, and exercised admiralty jurisdiction. In 1673 it was em- 
powered to try certain cases without jury. Below this court was the 
County Court, with jurisdiction over civil and criminal cases, except 
over capital and divorce cases. It was composed of an assistant 
secretary in the county, aided by the commissioners, who were nomi- 
nated by the freemen, and appointed by the General Court. It 
had legal powers, could lay out highways, license public houses, see 
to the support of an able ministry, admit freemen, and exercise pro- 
bate powers. Below the County Court was the local tribunal, corre- 
sponding to the Court of Justice of the Peace. It was held by an 
assistant if such lived in the town, or ])y commissioners of small 
causes elected by the people, or by the selectmen ; and it tried cases 
of minor importance. 

Outside of the general system was a "Merchant's Court," held 
by the governor or deputy, and ten magistrates, for the benefit of 
strangers trading with the colony. Chancery jurisdiction was ex- 
ercised by the General Court until 1685, when a Chancery Court 
was organized, composed of the magistrates of the County Courts, 
from which an appeal could be made to the Court of Assistants. 

Under the new charter of 1691, the judicial system was simpli- 
fied and wholly separated from the Executive and Legislative de- 
partments. The lower courts tried all cases where less than forty 
shillings were involved, if the suit were not over land. The justice 
of the peace of the county held sessions each quarter. He cared for 
roads, bridges, inns, and had the criminal jurisdiction of the County 
Courts of the old charter. The civil jurisdiction was given to Courts 
of Common Pleas, composed of four judges appointed by the gov- 
ernor. Above all these was the Superior Court, consisting of a chief- 
justice and four associate justices, appointed by the governor, and 
dependent on the legislature for their salaries. It had appellate 
jurisdiction, had power to issue the writ of habeas corjius, and also 



COLONIAL GOVERNMENT. 63 

exercised equitable jurisdiction. The governor and council formed 
the Supreme Court of Probate and appointed probate judges for 
each county. There was a Vice-Admiralty Court, very unpopular, 
Avhose judges were appointed by the king. 

The judicial system of the other New England colonies differed 
very little from that that has already been given of Massachusetts. 
New Hampshire had a Court of Appeals in the council of twelve 
members, or the upper house. Connecticut had one Supreme Court 
with a chief -justice and four associate justices, sitting twice a year 
in each county; while the County Court consisted of one judge and 
two or more justices of the peace. There were eighteen probate 
districts with a judge for each; also there were justices in every 
town; and a sheriff and king's attorney in each county. Rhode 
Island did not differ materially from Connecticut in her Judicial 
Department. 

The bar of New England was not prominent in the first century's 
colonization, but near the Revolution it was graced by such men as 
John Adams, Otis, etc. Litigation was frequent and fees were good. 
A jury could consider several cases at once, and could roam about 
at will. Special pleadings and demurrers were not admitted. A 
lawyer had to practice three years in the loAver courts before he was 
admitted to the superior courts. Later, three years' study was made 
necessary to be an attorney; two more to be a counselor; and two 
more to become a barrister. 

In the local government of New England the town was made the 
unit, which developed into a colony, as Plymouth into Massachu- 
setts, Newport and Providence into Rhode Island, New Haven into 
Connecticut, colonies at first being scarcely more than town leagues. 
Each town made its own government. The officers were much the 
same in name and duty as in England, and were elected by the 
people, except the sheriff in Massachusetts, who Avas appointed by 
the governor. Selectmen cared for the public business of towns. 
Towns gradually lost themselves in the colonial government; but the 
townships, originating in New England, have since been the unit of 
government in the United States. Townships grew into counties 
for judicial purposes; and counties, into colonies for legislative 
purposes. Towns sent delegates to the legislature. 



64 INSTITUTIONAL HISTORY OF UNITED STATES. 

NEW HAMPSHIRE. 

Until 1679 New Hampshire was under the control of Massachu- 
setts, Avhose government has been described. The Mason claims were 
a disturbing factor in New Hampshire until 1677, when the Court 
of the Crown decided that neither Massachusetts nor INIason had any 
claims on the colony. It became a royal province in 1679, after 
which the king appointed the governor and council, and tlie people 
chose an Assembly. Mason kept up the light with the Crown, which 
caused the colonists much suffering. The people had all their politi- 
cal rights taken from them in 1683-84. Following this act revolts 
were frequent over attempts to collect taxes, levied by the governor 
or king. The king then annexed the colony to Massachusetts in 
1688. William and Mary, however, separated them, in 1691, and 
placed New Hampshire under her former government of 1679. 

The history of New Hampshire as a colony was a stormy one, 
but also a glorious one. She carried on a continuous struggle for 
rights of Englishmen; and the "Rangers" and "Green Mountain 
Boys " became household words in New England. 

NEW YORK. 

New York was the only dangerous settlement in the New "World, 
dangerous to the rights of Englishmen, and to the dominion of that 
people on the Western Continent. It was founded wholly for trade 
and by trade. Dutch commerce early saw the advantages of control- 
ling the fur trade in this immense region. The Dutch West India 
Company, which was organized in 1621, formed settlements in New 
York in 1623, by sending out a company of Walloons, who had been 
driven from their homes by Spanish persecutions. 

The company established tlie Patroon system, which gradually 
grew too strong for it because of the great size of the estates. To 
make these smaller the patroons were ordered to take partners, but 
they neutralized the order by one patroon going into partnership 
with another, thus doubling the size of their estates and also their 
power. The company ordered the patroons to do all their trading 
with it, but they disobeyed the order, and the company could not 
enforce it. Then the territory was thrown open to all comers, and 
immigration set in. This restricted the patroons so that they were 
finally limited to a one mile water front and to two miles back. 

The governor, appointed by Holland, had, most of the time, 



COLONIAL GOVERNMENT. 65 

absolute control, though he sometimes called a council. Holland 
formed a burgher government for New York under Stuy vesant ; but 
he evaded it and appointed all the officers himself. There was too 
much selfishness in the company to give personal freedom to the 
colonists, so it continually obstructed any movement in that direc- 
tion. But help came from another, and, to the company, a very 
unwelcome source. The English claimed the territory, and, about 
1660, began laying plans to take it. The Duke of York sent out 
Nicolls, in 1664, to conquer the territory. By guaranteeing protec- 
tion of life and property, religious liberty, freedom of trade, immi- 
gration, and representative government to the colony, the conquest 
was made easy. A code, called the Duke's Laws, was drawn up, which 
instituted a Court of Assizes, Court of Sessions, county officers, and 
town overseers, and confirmed religious liberty, though it did not 
much favor popular representation. Offices were distributed between 
the English and Dutch. 

In 1673 Holland reconquered the colony in the war then raging 
between England and Holland. The change back to the Dutch rule 
was made with very little excitement and much content, as the Duke 
of York had not given the people a representative government. The 
next year New York was given back to England, and Dutch rule 
forever disappeared from the continent. Andros, whose ambition 
extended to the governorship of all the colonies, and who originated 
the scheme that the Duke of York, when king of England, sought to 
carry out, was made governor, and was on the whole a good officer. 
In 1683 a charter of privileges was granted, which provided for a 
governor and council appointed by the Duke, and an Assembly of 
eighteen members elected by the people. No tax was to be levied 
without the consent of the Assembly ; and trial by jury and religious 
freedom were allowed. But since no act was to become a law with- 
out the consent of the Duke, and as he consented to no laws and 
revoked the charter as soon as he became king, in 1685, the new 
government was short-lived and of no effect. 

The French were continually making war on the colonies, and 
James, being a Catholic, favored the French for religious reasons. 
New York was thus left to guard itself against the French and main- 
tain its allegiance with the Iroquois, the only hope of the people, as 
the Jesuits were making the greatest efforts to draw these Indians 
away from the English, and thus turn them against the colony to 
destroy it. 



66 INSTITUTIONAL HISTORY OP UNITED STATES. 

New York was ruled by a governor and council appointed by the 
king, until IGDl, the accession of William and Mary, when a repre- 
sentative body was allowed the people. The government was more 
arbitrary and corrupt, and the representative principle feebler than 
in any other colony. The governor was still appointed by the king, 
and the council of twelve members, formerly the upper house, was 
appointed by the governor and possessed a negative on legislation. 
The Assembly, consisting of twenty-seven members elected by the 
freeholders of the counties, was convened by the governor. These 
things left much of the power in the hands of that officer, who of 
course Avas a royalist. 

The judicial system was made up of different courts. The lowest 
court was that of the Justice, who was appointed by the governor. 
He tried cases involving less than five pounds. Next were the Court 
of Sessions and Common Pleas, composed of three judges, who held 
court twice a year and were appointed by the governor to serve dur- 
ing his pleasure. The Supreme Court consisted of a chief-justice 
and two associate justices, who sat four times a year, were appointed 
by the governor, and held office during good behavior. There was 
a Vice-Admiralty Court with one judge, appointed by the governor. 
In cases involving over three hundred pounds, an appeal could be 
made to the governor and council. Equity lay with the governor. 
The Probate was also an appointment by the governor. The judges 
were largely the creatures of the governor, and were of little good to 
the people. 

This is a brief review of the third great principle in the develop- 
ment of the American colonies, Virginia's government being the first, 
and Massachusetts' the second. The second represented the forces 
of town principles ; the first represented plantation or county forces ; 
and New York, the third, represented parts of both of these. Agri- 
culture and commerce both were factors in the civilization of New 
York, and both added their influence. 

MARYLAND 

Maryland presents two new elements in the colonization of the 
New World. She was the first proprietary colony, and lays claim to 
being the first state to give religious toleration. The disputes on the 
latter are many, and opinions differ. The charter formed a govern- 
ment partly on feudal principles. The proprietor had sole right, 



COLONIAL GOVERNMENT. 67 

except he must not interfere with the legal rights of Englishmen. 
He made the laws by and with the advice, assent, and approbation 
of the freemen or their delegates. The people were given the right 
to elect an Assembly, and the proprietor appointed a council. 

The history of the colony was largely made up of religious dis- 
turbances, and the strife between Clayborne and Baltimore. At 
times the governor or proprietor and the Assembly fought over some 
question of privilege. The peace of the colony also depended very 
much on peace in England. The Puritans were strong and some- 
times controlled affairs. 

Ontside of religious controversy Maryland had no important 
events ; the government was good and quiet. The proprietor was 
captain-general and the head of the church; he appointed all officers, 
religious and civil, military and naval, and held a veto on all laws; 
he also had the power to pardon. He, or the governor appointed by 
him, could summon, prorogue, or dissolve the Assembly.* The coun- 
cil consisted of twelve members, who received nine shillings per day 
as salary. There were sixteen counties in the colony, with four bur- 
gesses each, besides two from Annapolis. Elections were held every 
three years, and a property qualification existed for citizenship. 

The legal system was simpler in Maryland than it was in other 
colonies. There were County Courts whose magistrates were ap- 
pointed by the governor and which met quarterly. Cases of less 
than forty shillings' value were tried in these. 

The Provincial Court sat twice a year at Annapolis, and tried 
important cases. The provincial judge was also appointed by the 
governor. There were a Court of Appeals and a Chancery Court, 
over which the governor and council presided, and from which an 
appeal could be taken to the king. The legal profession was able, 
generally, though somewhat loose; and litigation was frequent. 
Taxes were light. Tobacco was the medium of exchange and was 
made legal tender, in 1733, though a mint was established in 1662. 

CONNECTICUT. 

The charter of Connecticut was perhaps the most interesting 
one given to the colonies. The people had all rights of govern- 
ment. The freemen elected a governor, deputy-governor, a council 
of twelve, a general assembly, and magistrates. The last had both 
judicial and legislative powers. Nineteen persons formed a corpora- 



68 INSTITUTIONAL HISTORY OF UNITED STATES. 

tion with the privilege of admitting others, and secured a charter 
which was granted to the "Governor and Company of Connecticut." 
Indian wars and the struggle to hold the charter made up the chief 
events of Connecticut as a colony. The government was made for 
and by the people. The charter appointed John Winthrop governor, 
and also appointed a deputy and twelve assistants to serve six months ; 
thereafter the people elected the officers. Two times a year, or 
oftener if necessary, the Assembly met. This Assembly, composed 
of the lower house, governor or deputy governor, and at least six of 
the council, had full power to make any and all provisions in any 
and all lines of government. The judicial system and local govern- 
ment were formed after the Massachusetts system. 

RHODE ISLAND. 

Koger Williams, fleeing from banishment, founded llhode Island 
in 1636, and for two years the colony governed itself democratically, 
and elected a judge and secretary. It was rather disorderly, and bore 
the condemnation of the other New England colonies. Williams, 
that he might form a more definite government, procured a charter 
from the king allowing the colony to govern itself as it chose. But 
there were such fanaticism and disorganized sentiment, that the 
people could form no government that helped matters much. The 
colony became a home for the turbulent class from all the other 
colonies, and anarchy was the nearest rule they had. ISIot until 
1664 was a compact government organized. The Quaker contro- 
versy, Indian wars, and boundary disputes formed the chief events. 
The complete religious license made the colony a continual nest of 
fanatical bigotry with a weak government and loose laws. Citizen- 
ship was limited to freeholders worth one hundred pounds. The 
freemen elected the governor and upper and lower houses. 

Williams was rather a dangerous man politically, and it was for 
political reasons he was banished from the Massachusetts colony. 
His ideas of religious toleration were not developed until after his 
banishment. He denied the rights of the colonists to their land, 
and also denied the king's right. He preached against punishment 
for Sabbath-breaking, denounced women for appearing unveiled, and 
incited Endicott to cut the cross from the flag. He denied the right 
to administer an oath to the unregenerate. His principles, carried 
out, led him to that great principle he fostered in his own colony, — 



COLONIAL GOVERNMENT. 69 

liberty of conscience, and separation of Church and State. However, 
this liberty of conscience was sometimes interpreted to mean freedom 
from civil restraint, because of which Rhode Island was constantly 
in trouble. 

DELAWARE. 

Three nations — Holland, Sweden, and England — contended for 
Delaware. The Dutch formed the first settlement, a mere trading- 
post, in 1623. The great Swedish king, Adolphus, in 1624, formed 
the Swedish West India Company with the purpose of gaining a 
foothold in the Kew World. But the great battle of Protestantism 
was to be fought out on the German soil, and Adolphus gave his 
life to that cause at Lutzen, without realizing his ambition on the 
Western Continent. Sweden's effort to form a settlement was made 
in 1638 against the protest of the Dutch, but the opposition extended 
only to a protest, as it was not safe to oppose vigorously the Swedish 
soldiers who had been trained by their king, Gustavus Adolphus. 
The government was a commercial monopoly, and under govern- 
ment patronage, though the people were well treated. The fight 
for the territory between the Dutch and Swedes continued until 
1655, when the Dutch conquered and ruled both the Hudson and 
Delaware valleys. Then a dispute for the territory arose between 
the Dutch and English, and Sweden was well avenged. In 1674 
the Dutch quietly gave up the territory to the English under the 
Duke of York, who sold Delaware to Penn in 1682. Erom this 
time until the Revolution Delaware was governed as a part of Penn- 
sylvania. Pennsylvania had bought the territory that she might 
have an outlet to the ocean. The population was mixed: Dutch, 
Swedes, Germans, Irish, and English, all settled there. • The Irish 
immigration was so heavy that it was stopped by legislation in 
1719. 

Delaware had an Executive and Legislative body. The legisla- 
tive was vested in one house only and was elected by the freemen. 
The proprietor appointed the governor and council, but the latter 
was only an advisory board and not an upper house. The freemen 
elected the county officers, and all financial officers were either elected 
by the people or the Assembly. The governor made judicial appoint- 
ments, and had power to pardon in all cases except in murder and 
treason. The Assembly could not be dissolved by the governor. 
All taxpayers were freemen, and a property qualification was neces- 



70 INSTITUTIONAL HISTORY OF UNITED STATES. 

sary to a seat in the Assembly. The governor had less power than 
most other officers, but he could appeal to the king. The judicial 
system Avas vested in lower courts, held by magistrates appointed 
by the governor; the County Courts, composed of three judges; and 
the Supreme Court, consisting of a chief-justice and three assistants. 
Appeals in cases of fifty pounds or more could be made to the king. 
There were a Court of Probate and a Court of Deeds in each county ; 
also there was a Vice-Admiralty Court, from which there was an 
appeal to the king. 'J'he bar was good, and the practice of law was 
simple. It was the intention of Penn that Delaware and Pennsyl- 
vania should govern themselves together, but the assemblies could 
not agree well, and Delaware was governed most of the time as an 
independent colony. 

* NORTH CAROLINA. 

North Carolina was granted to eight proprietors in IGGS, and com- 
prised what are now North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, west- 
ward to the Pacific Ocean. It, like Phode Island, became a place 
for the lawless. Men from Virginia, Massachusetts, and England 
were scattered over the territory in 16G3, when the king gave it to 
eight men as a personal favor. The government, in 1669, was made 
up of a governor appointed by the proprietors, and a council of 
twelve, of which one-half were appointed by the governor, and one- 
half were elected by the Assembly, which consisted of twelve dele- 
gates elected by the people. 

The great politician, Shaftesbury, and the great philoso})her, 
Locke, drew up a form of government, in 1669, never equaled on 
this continent for its absurdity. It was an attempt to plant feudal- 
ism in the New World. There were lords, vassals, manors, and 
estates. The chief power was vested in a nobility which did not 
exist. The people were to be serfs. Naturally they resisted, with 
the result that in 1693 tlie proprietors gave iip the "Eternal Consti- 
tution," and allowed the ])eople to govern themselves. Tlie broils 
and revolts under the constitution almost unfitted North Carolina 
for any governuient at all, especially since the general laws of the 
colony had drawn many lawless spirits to it. Things went from 
bad to worse under vicious and incompetent governors, who Avonld 
not recognize the Assembl}^, until 1731, when the colony was sold 
to the Crown. 

Down to 1765 the history of the people is made up of fights and 



COLONIAL GOVERNMENT. 71 

strife between the governor and council, and the two legislative 
houses. Nothing was settled nor could be depended upon. The 
general government, as it was in theory, consisted of a governor, 
council, and Assembly. Land property was a necessary qualifica- 
tion to hold office, and only freeholders could vote. This system 
continued until North Carolina became a state. Senators had to 
own at least three hundred acres of land; representatives, one hun- 
dred acres; and a voter, fifty acres. The Judicial Department con- 
sisted of six districts and thirty-two counties. There were two 
courts: a Supreme, which sat twice a year at each district town; 
and the County Courts, which met monthly. The governor and 
council composed the Chancery and Admiralty. All these, however, 
were lax. As Bancroft says, " There were no lawyers and no laws." 
Laws were not printed, but were read in the market-place; and 
courts met anywhere, in private houses, taverns, etc. 

NEW JERSEY. 

The Dutch first settled this colony in 1617 merely as a trading 
point; but it was not until 1C64, when the Duke of York granted 
it to Berkeley and Carteret, that its real history began. Gradually 
there came Protestants from New York, Quakers from England, and 
Puritans from New England, and formed a new colouy for the Eng- 
lish. The first form of government was the " Concessions," in which 
the proprietors appointed the governor and council, and the people 
elected the Assembly. Affairs moved rather quietly except for a 
few broils between the governor and Assembly. The colony was 
divided in 1676, Carteret holding East Jersey; and a company of 
Quakers, who had bought out Berkeley, holding West Jersey. It 
became royal in 1702. The usual royal government — a governor 
and council appointed by the Crown, and an Assembly elected by 
the people — was formed ; and the usual struggles between the gov- 
ernor and Assembly were frequent. 

Monthly courts were held in towns, and County Courts were 
established. The Scotch added a Court of Common Right. There 
was also a Court of Appeals, consisting of a member of the council 
and the justices of the peace. Cases of certain value involved, 
could be appealed to the Supreme Court and to the king. All judges 
were royally appointed, and the profession of law was of a high 
standard. 



72 INSTITUTIONAL HISTORY OF UNITED STATES. 

SOUTH CAROLINA. 

The proprietors sent out a colony of English settlers in 1670. 
They governed the colony as a proprietary colony nntil 1729, Avhen 
it became royal under the usual royal form of government. A prop- 
erty qualification was necessary to office-holding and voting. The 
judicial system was like that of North Carolina. 

PENNSYLVANIA. 

The home of the Quakers was governed by a governor appointed 
by the proprietor. A provincial council of seventy-two members 
was elected by the people. One-third of the members retired each 
year. The Assembly was composed the first year of all the free- 
men of the province, and after that of two hundred freemen chosen 
annually by the voters. The governor presided over the council; 
bills originated in the council and had to be assented to by the 
Assembly to become laws. The governor and council were the 
executive power. • All Christians, except bond-servants and con- 
victs, who held land or paid taxes, were freemen. Penn relinquished 
all rights except a triple vote in the council; but afterwards, he 
secured the veto power and the right to appoint officers. 

The judicial system was as follows : There were three courts, — 
County, Orphans', and Provincial. The County Courts were com- 
posed of justices of the peace. The justices also presided over the 
Orphans' Courts, which controlled estates. The Provincial Court 
was composed of five judges. It tried higher cases and was a Court 
of Appeals. In 1688, because the council had been loose in its work, 
Penn appointed a lieutenant-governor. Affairs did not improve, 
and, in 1701, a new charter was granted, in which greater liberty 
was allowed the people. The Assembly, consisting of four members 
from each county, was elected annually; and the council had only 
advisory power. This gave the colony but one legislative body. 
Other offices continued as before; and the usual strife between the 
governor and Assembly was prominent. 

GEORGIA. 

Georgia was settled for the debtor class by a company of trustees. 
Government under them was rather narrow. The charter was given 
for twenty-one years. The trustees served without pay, and were 



COLONIAL GOVERNMENT. 73 

given the power to raise money, govern and defend the colony, 
make laws and establish courts, all of which was to be done with 
the rights of Englishmen in view. But the Rum Act, slavery prohi- 
bition, and Catholic enmity were constant causes of trouble. 

Slaves were admitted to the colony in 1747; and in 1753 the 
colony was given to the Crown. Then it grew rapidly. The trustees 
had ruled badly. In some places there was no government; and in 
others, bad government. The legislation consisted of religious and 
moral meddling and became very unpopular, so that the trustees 
gladly gave the colony to the Crown. Then the royal and repre- 
sentative form of government was instituted, and the usual royal 
judicial system was carried out. Property qualifications were neces- 
sary to citizenship. 

The reader now should consider the spirit of liberty as worked 
out in the colonies. In all of them there was a constant struggle 
between the royal idea of government and the popular idea. The 
people had less power in reality than in theory; but not once did 
they relinquish their theory, and constantly worked to make it real : 
though it took a revolution to make it so. Generally the judicial 
system, the governor, upper house, and much of the local govern- 
ment were not in the care of the people, who ever reserved the con- 
trol of the Assembly or lower house, which was always true to the 
people. Universal suffrage was not allowed anywhere; but greater 
liberty was given in this country than England herself gave. From 
1607 until 1783, one hundred and seventy-six years, the fight for 
just government went on. It was a long school day, but bitter expe- 
rience was the teacher, and the lesson was well learned. Let us 
hope it will never be forgotten. 



CHAPTER VI. 

GROWTH OF GOVERNMENT, 

Ancient Government — First Government — Moots — Folkmoots — Feudal- 
ism — America's Work — Virginia — Unit — Rights — Union of 1643 — 
From 1660 to 1678 — Condition of 1690 — Board of Trade and Plan- 
tations — Fenn's Plan — Albany Congress — Opposition to the Stamp 
Act — TowNSHEND — Commercial Tax — Virginia — Articles of Asso- 
ciation — Tea Tax — Royal Instructions — Correspondence Commit- 
tees — 1774 — First Continental Congress — Plan of Union — Second 
Continental Congress — Independence — Action of States — Articles 
— Flag — Emblem — Admiralty Courts — Federal Convention. 

WHEjST America was discovered, the two great elements in her 
future government — localism and nationalism — had existed 
for centuries. Our ancestors passed through all the stages of gov- 
ernment previous to 1492. Democracy, republicanism, and mon- 
archy each in turn had ruled over Europe. 

Family ties were the first bonds of statehood. These ties 
formed villages which governed themselves, and which are the 
origin of the towns of New England and the townships of the states 
of to-day. The ancient .villages OAvned the land as villages and not 
as individuals, but it was allotted to individuals for private use. 
Magistrates were elected by village meetings called Moots, and Avere 
greatly limited in authority. The Moot was the strong elem.ent of 
government, and was composed of the men of the village. It meted 
out justice, made the laws, elected officers and gave them their 
duties. Local government or localism had its origin in the villages 
of ancient Europe. 

The origin of nationalism lies in the inter-communal government 
of the tribal villages mentioned above. For protection or some other 
purpose, the villages joined themselves together to better control 
common and foreign questions of politics. These united assemblies 
were called Folkmoots, and were simply a congress of a confedera- 
tion, having no autliority over the local government. 

74 



GROWTH OF GOVERNMENT. 75 

As society changed into feudalism, the Moot gave way to the local 
government of the estate, in which the people had no power, and 
the Folkmoot became the Witenagemot or congress of the nobles. 
Localism was the supreme principle of government in feudalism. 
In the next change, to monarchy, nationalism was the vital force, 
and the Moot entirely ceased. 

It was America's purpose to unite the two elements of govern- 
ment; for it is only in a proper union of localism and nationalism 
that man can secure his best government. The former was the 
principle of New England government. The " Compact " recog- 
nized the Pilgrims' dependence on the king, but provided for 
government by the old Moot of the German barbarians. The town 
meeting was the popular expression of the people. 

Because of the number of inhabitants all the time increasing, 
Moots were changed into representative government, and finally to 
the old Folkmoot or state control, which then was little more than 
the old inter-communal government, or town league. These colonial 
assemblies, like the old assemblies, were not given greater power at 
first than the persons electing them held. This, however, was soon 
changed, and exclusive power to act for the people was given the 
representatives. 

There was much discontent in Virginia until 1619, when the 
people were given representative rights by the London Company. 
The inauguration of the House of Burgesses was due to the desire 
instinctive to have a voice in government. Each colony, soon after 
its beginning, instituted such an assembly. These assemblies, or 
lower houses, never relinquished their right to control local affairs. 
The unit of government was the town in New England and the 
borough or county in the South. Towns leagued together, and 
formed states North, while counties or boroughs made the state 
South. Each state was distinct and separate from all the others. 
A common danger from the English Crown, or Indians, often drove 
the colonies to band together, but the local government was held 
supreme. 

I shall try to analyze carefully the movements in colonial gov- 
ernment that lead up to the Constitution. The New England Con- 
federacy of 1613 was the beginning of unions on this continent. 
The king and Parliament had as yet paid but little attention to the 
colonies, the London and Plymouth companies having so far con- 
trolled colonization. In 1634 a board of commissioners, called the 



76 INSTITUTIONAL HISTORY OF UNITED STATES. 

"Lords' Commissioners of Foreign Plantations," was appointed by 
the king to make laws affecting the colonies. It was a part of the 
king's plan to unite all government, foreign and domestic, into one 
power, and that power himself. Citizens of the colonies had more 
rights in their government than the citizens of England had in 
theirs. Sovereignty was aimed at beyond doubt, thought Arch- 
bishop Laud, who was president of the Lords' Commissioners of 
Foreign Plantations, and he took steps to destroy the local govern- 
ment of the people. These attempts and the Indian massacres 
served to unite the colonies. As early as 1637 a union was pro- 
posed by Connecticut; in 1639, 1640, and 1642, it was attempted at 
Boston. The Narragansett Indians became dangerous in 1643, and 
delegates from Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Haven, and Ply- 
mouth met to form a union for defense. The three former signed 
Articles of Association, and the Plymouth delegates, instead of 
signing, carried the Articles back to their Assembly or General 
Court, which submitted them to towns, where they Avere ratified by 
the people. This act of Plymouth formed a precedent in the gov- 
ernment that has ever been a strong one. As soon as the people 
had ratified, the court signed the Articles, and thus the United 
Colonies of New England was formed, with thirty-nine towns in the 
confederation and about 24,000 people. 

A preamble and eleven articles made up the agreement signed 
by the four colonies. It stated that the people came to the new 
country for a common end, and being surrounded by hostile nations 
and receiving no protection from England, they conceived it their 
duty to enter into an association for mutual help and strength. It 
was a league of friendship, of offense and defense, but each colony 
had jurisdiction over itself in all cases. No colony could be ad- 
mitted without the consent of all in the league, nor no two should 
join in one jurisdiction. The expenses of Avar were to be appor- 
tioned according to the number of males from sixteen to sixty years 
old in each colony. Each colony chose two commissioners to meet 
once a year to consider affairs belonging to the confederation. Six 
might determine any question, but the board was prohibited from 
meddling with the government of any colony. In an emergency 
four commissioners could determine on war. This board could 
plan and advise, but had no executive power. The commissioners 
had to be church-members, and no colony having a different basis 
for citizenship could be admitted. Thus it Avas a kind of theocracy; 



GROWTH OF GOVERNMENT. 77 

for which reason Maine could not be admitted, and for this and 
other reasons Ehode Island never was. So it was that the first 
step towards union in America was not even broad enough to embrace 
all the New England colonies. 

The Kestoration changed the policy of England towards the 
colonies. The young, fun-loving Charles II. was aristocratic but 
not business-like, so his rule did not interfere greatly; but his 
brother, James II., was just the opposite and was filled with abso- 
lute ideas. These were days of shame at home for England and 
hardship for her colonies. The commonwealth idea in America was 
a distasteful one to James II., and he determined to stop the prog- 
ress of liberal government by centralizing all the rights enjoyed by 
the people in the Crown, and enforcing strictly the Navigation Act. 
He revoked the charter, which act was a blow to the confederation. 
While he allowed rights to the people, yet they were forced to look 
to him for power rather than to themselves. Local self-government 
was destroyed, or, rather, the idea of supremacy in the people was 
swept away for a time. 

The foreign ministry took the following steps towards destr03dng 
self-government in America: from 1660 to 1667 the colonies were 
brought more under the direct supervision of Parliament; from 1667 
to 1673 this policy was intensified under the leadership of the Duke 
of York, afterwards James II. ; from 1673 to 1678 the policy was 
still further intensified, Virginia was given away, and New York 
was again granted to the Duke of York; it was also decided to 
abolish the colonial assemblies and town meetings and rule the 
people with a governor and council appointed by the king. 

About this time Charles II. died and was succeeded by his 
brother, James II. His policy was more bitter than his brother's. 
All the colonies between Georgia and Nova Scotia were joined in 
one empire, whose ruler was the king. Town meetings were abol- 
ished, and assemblies were either prohibited or limited. The theory 
was absolutism. But there was help near. The Revolution in 
England unseated James and seated William and Mary. In the 
confusion most of the colonies went back to the old government. 
Because of this event and the general confusion arising from it, and 
the invasion of the Erench and Indians, a general congress was 
called in 1690. Only five colonies were represented, but they pro- 
vided for a call of men to prevent the Erench from gaining New- 
York and the region to the north. 



78 INSTITUTIONAL HISTORY OF UNITED STATES. 

Such was the condition of government in America in 1G90. Out 
of the confusion attending the attempt to destroy local government, 
all the colonies emerged as dependent on the Crown. Seven of 
the colonies — Virginia, New York, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Con- 
necticut, Rhode Island, and Delaware — were continued in their 
original government, but the king changed the other five. He 
granted a charter to Massachusetts, including Plymouth and Maine, 
and took away from the people the right to choose a governor. He 
formed New Hampshire into a separate government, united East 
and West Jersey, divided Carolina into North and South, formed 
the territory of Georgia, and anade all these royal provinces, under 
which arrangement they remained until 1776. The king also or- 
ganized the Board of Trade and Plantations, in 1696, which existed 
until 1776. It had the general oversight of the colonies and was 
the means of intercourse with them. 

Because of the increasing tyranny of England, the efforts of 
France for supremacy in the New World, and a desire for a commer- 
cial union, William Penn proposed a plan of union in 1698 like the 
following: each province should appoint two delegates to a general 
congress, to meet once per year or oftener in time of war, and once 
in two years in time of peace, to regulate national affairs. The 
king should appoint a commissioner, who should act as president of 
this body. Anuing the several duties of this body were the follow- 
ing: To adjust differences between provinces; to prevent injuries to 
commerce; to make provisions for the general safety. Other plans 
were proposed, and while none was adopted, yet they showed the 
trend of thought. The Crown often called general assemblies or 
conventions during the Indian wars, but these were outside issues 
and had little influence on the people's ideas of union. In 1744, 
1748, and 1751, congresses were held, but by call of royal authority. 

In all these years the idea of self-government remained strong. 
Advertisements to Europeans to move to a country where the peo- 
ple managed their local affairs were often scattered among those 
people and drew many to the New World. These liberties were held 
under the Crown and became more dear year by year as they were 
embodied in the institutions of the people, who always strongly 
maintained their allegiance to the king. There were frequent 
struggles between the royally appointed governors and councils and 
the representative body of tlie Assembly. It was tlie constant effort 
of the former to restrict popular government; but without entering 



GROWTH OF GOVERNMENT. 79 

into details, it will suffice to say that the people lost but little ground, 
and finally settled the question in the Revolution. 

As a result of the French trouble and danger of Indian invasions, 
the Albany Congress was called in 1754, as proposed by Franklin. 
It was proposed in this Congress that the local institutions be held 
inviolate, and a grand council, composed of delegates from the 
colonies, should be elected every three years, to meet once a year. 
It should choose a speaker and could not be dissolved, prorogued, 
or continued longer than six weeks without its consent or the demand 
of the Crown. It should make treaties with Indians and regulate 
trade with them, levy duties, imposts, and taxes, nominate civil 
officers to act under the Constitution, and approve all military 
officers. The executive power was to be vested in a president- 
general, appointed and supported by the Crown. The plan was 
not liked in America because it was too royal, and the Crown dis- 
liked it because it was too liberal. By this time, 1754, it reqiiired 
no statesman to depict the political future of the colonies. 

The drama of the Eevolution had for its prologue the Stamp Act 
in 1765; its epilogue was the Constitution of 1789. Between these 
what a tragedy! Liberty, like a Prometheus, was bound on the 
rock-like ideas of a tyrant king, whose vultures were continually 
eating at the life organs of the chained victim. The story of its 
release is written in blood and suffering, but its release has blessed 
millions of human souls. 

Boston was the leader in opposition to the Stamp Act. It sug- 
gested a general congress, and sent out circulars to all the colonies 
proposing the same. This act was the greatest unionizing force yet 
in the history of the colonies. Virginia and Massachusetts linked 
arms in the contest and led the battle. The Stamp Act Congress 
convened October 7, 1765, in New York, there being twenty-eight 
delegates present from nine colonies. These delegates were chosen 
by the colonial assemblies. Virginia, New Hampshire, Georgia, 
and North Carolina did not send delegates, but heartily sympa- 
thized with the movement and promised assistance. This notable 
Congress was the first meeting of many of the patriots. After 
eleven days a Declaration of Rights and Grievances was agreed 
upon and inserted in the journal. This was the earliest embodi- 
ment of principles by an American Congress, and consisted of a pre- 
amble and fourteen resolutions. The delegates acknowledged their 
subordination to the king and Parliament, but denied most vehe- 



80 INSTITUTIONAL HISTORY OF UNITED STATES. 

mently the riglit of taxation Avithout representation. So bitter was 
the resistance that Parliament repealed the Stamp Act in 176G. 
It was an occasion of great joy. The first fruits of the final victory 
of intlependence had been won. 

The period from 17G6 to 1775 was one of constant endeavor to 
tax the people. In the repeal of the Stamp Act Parliament declared 
it had a right to govern America in all things as it saw proper, thus 
annulling the effect of the repeal ; for it was the principle and not 
the tax the colonists opposed. The Townshend ministry succeeded 
that of Pitt, and the colonies felt the force of the change. Town- 
shend was never a friend to the self-governing idea of America, and 
always opposed it while a member of the Board of Trade. On June 
3, 1776, he spoke as follows: "It has long been my opinion that 
America should be regulated and deprived of its militating and con- 
tradictory charters, and its royal governors, judges, and attorneys 
be rendered independent of the people. I therefore expect that the 
present administration will, in the recess of Parliament, take all 
necessary previous steps for compassing so desirable an event." 

The commercial taxation by Parliament began immediately after 
the repeal of the Stamp Act. On the 20th of November, 17G7, 
duties were laid on glass, paper, painters' colors, etc. A board of 
customs was established at Boston to collect the revenue for all 
America, and writs of assistance were legalized. It was arranged 
that governors, councils, and judges should be independent of the 
people, and the assemblies were to be denied the right of legisla- 
tion. Again was revived the attempt of 1660-90 to take away 
and destroy local self-government. The whole matter was designed 
to prove the right and ability of England to tax America. There 
was no need of the revenue and no principle in it more honorable 
than that of might. Townshend died before the tax was enforced, 
but Lord North was a worthy successor, and proceeded to collect 
the revenue. America showed a different spirit in her resistance 
noAv than she did in 1765 against the Stamp Act. Then it was 
largely of that purposeless, intense, biit short-lived mob-like spirit; 
but now it took on the form of eternal and determined resistance. 

Massachusetts took the lead, as usual, by sending a circular 
letter to all the other colonies advocating united resistance. This 
letter was warmly received except in those colonies Avhose royal 
governors interfered. Virginia sent a letter along with the one 
from Massachusetts, and these did much to unify tlie sentiment of 



GROWTH OF GOVERNMENT. 81 

the people. Towns and counties called for a union, continued cor- 
respondence, and for a general congress. Parliament resolved to 
make an example of Massachusetts, and took steps to send an army 
there to enforce the law. It adopted another plan with Virginia, 
which was as forward as its northern sister in disobeying the laws 
of Parliament. Virginia was to be flattered into compliance, that 
the North and South might be separated. A governor was sent 
to reside in Virginia, as one had not resided there for many years. 
He feasted the burgesses and otherwise sought to influence their 
vanity, but Washington, Jefferson, Randolph, Lee, and Henry were 
in the House at the time, and no king nor his courtiers could flatter 
these men into submission to tyranny. The governor hinted that 
he would be pleased if the burgesses would remain silent on politi- 
cal questions for a while, but they answered him by resolving "That 
the right of taxation was vested in the House of Burgesses." Vir- 
ginia thus led in making common cause with Massachusetts against 
the Crown. The spirit of resistance was so universal that from 
Maine to Georgia one idea only remained in vogue ; thus originated 
the nationalizing force of the Revolution. 

The Articles of Association were agreed to by all the colonies, 
and it became the style not to use English goods. Parliament saw 
the fatal step it had taken, and postponed the enforcement of the 
act depriving the colonies of their local government, and also 
repealed the tax on all articles except tea. The Tea Tax was the 
resort of Parliament to establish its right to tax America. England 
had an import tax on tea. She removed this and sent the tea to 
America. A tax of threepence per pound was placed on the Ameri- 
can importation, and Parliament deluded itself that the people 
would buy the tea, because it was cheaper though a tax was on it. 
Thus the right to tax America would have a precedent. Patriotism, 
Parliament thought, in America was worth about threepence per 
pound of tea. This act was meant by the king to be a fight to 
death, the last struggle in America between liberty and tyranny. 
The East India Company was given the monopoly of the trade. 

Now the three years' opposition to royal instruction, which had 
been local, changed to the privilege of representative rights which 
brought all the colonies to a common interest, and the fire of 
opposition was quickly aroused. The Port Act inflamed the spirit 
of resentment and caused all the other colonies to join Massachu- 
setts in resistance. The two acts, the Tea Tax and the Port Bill, 

G ■ 



82 INSTITUTIONAL HISTORY OF UNITED STATES. 

one the sequence of tlie other, changed forever the purpose of 
America. From that time forth there Avas union in tlie oppressed 
country. The fight continued for ten long years. It presents the 
noblest picture of human history. No student of America can yet 
read the events of those ten years without a sense of wrong and 
pride. More than one hundred years have passed, but not one page 
of that glorious resistance to absolutism is lost. May it ever re- 
main to the American student as a mark of eternal and complete 
freedom. 

As the outgrowth of the resistance to the Tea Tax, there fol- 
lowed three years of royal instructions and resistance to those 
instructions by the colonies. The first instruction ordered that the 
provincial militia should be removed from Castle William and the 
king's troops placed there. This was followed by instructions to 
dissolve the assemblies or to remove them to out-of-the-way places, 
and to provide means for supporting local officers, thus overthrow- 
ing self-government entirely. These instructions were different to 
different colonies and were met in different ways, as no concerted 
action could be taken against them. The war of the Regulators 
followed in North Carolina, and the burning of the ship Gaspee, in 
Rhode Island. All the colonies were ordered not to oppose the 
slave-trade, and Virginia petitioned the king, in which petition she 
spoke of the system as inhuman. The king held his instructions to 
be law, but everywhere the people resisted them. Internal strife 
was going on also. The colonies had agreed not to trade with 
England until she had removed the taxes, but New York circulated 
a letter against the agreement that almost destroyed it. Ncav York 
carried her })oint, and her people became known as revolters. 
Georgia, New Hampshire, and Rhode Island weakened and caused 
dissension. Dispute as to territory also gave trouble. 

Parliament rejoiced when New York broke the non-importation 
agreement. That seemed to destroy all united action, and the 
country slipped back into indifference. Except for a few leading 
men, the question of freedom in America might have been checked 
for many years by New York's traitorous act. But a few men yet 
exposed the danger to the people in accepting the king's personal 
instructions as law. The cloud no larger than tlie hand these men 
still saw in the seemingly clear sky, and with prophetic vision they 
foretold tlie awful storm to follow and the magnificent day after the 
clouds had cleared away. 



GROWTH OF GOVERNMENT. 83 

Royal instructions and the conceit and tyranny of an ignorant 
king were the acme of English misrule. How the hearts of America 
must have throbbed with anger and resistance toward arbitrary rule 
in place of constitutional law! Samuel Adams, the untiring op- 
poser of these instructions, labored by letter, speech, and press, 
until he had aroused in his countrymen the same fire that burned 
in his own breast. On the 4th of September, 1772, was announced 
the most tyrannical instruction that had yet come from the royal 
lips. The men implicated in the burning of the Gaspee were ordered 
arrested and taken to England for trial. This order violated the 
very basis of civil rights, which allowed a man a trial by jury and 
on the grounds where the crime was committed; and it aroused all 
the colonies. Correspondence committees were organized, and a 
general call for a congress went over the country. Virginia passed 
resolutions of resistance, which were adopted by many of her sister 
provinces. After this show of opposition Parliament became fright- 
ened and repealed the Transportation Act, the last of the royal 
instructions which served to unite the people against royalty and 
hastened the crisis many years. The right of trial by jury was 
preserved as the inherent right of an Englishman. 

The momentous year, 1774, approached with a plan for a general 
congress arranged. The Port Bill was in force, and the Massachu- 
setts Act and Quebec Act were passed by Parliament. A move- 
ment was again on foot to abolish the town meeting, regulate juries, 
invest the appointments of governors and councils in the Crown, 
and limit the assemblies. The Regulating Act of May 20, 1774, 
provided for all these. It took away the power to elect the council 
from the charter colonies, and provided that the council should con- 
sist of not fewer than twelve nor more than thirty-six members and 
should be appointed by the Crown. The governor also was to be 
appointed by the Crown and to have the power to remove judges of 
inferior courts, justices of the peace, and other minor officers. He 
should aj^point and remove the sheriff, who had the power to select 
a jury. Town meetings were forbidden without the consent of a 
governor, except to choose officers. Offenders were to be trans- 
ported to England or to other colonies for trial. 

This act was "the straw that broke the camel's back." A people 
who would live under such infamous legislation would not deserve 
freedom. It Avould require too much space to tell of the manner of 
resisting this act and the Massachusetts Act; suffice it to say that 



84 INSTITUTIONAL HISTORY OF UNITED STATES. 

the people resisted. It was June when the news of the passage of 
the act reached America and August when enforcement began. In 
September the First Continental Congress met. There were fifty- 
five delegates from twelve colonies present. Georgia did not send 
delegates, but sent a promise to concur in the actions of the meeting. 
Kandolph of Virginia was chosen president. Each colony had one 
vote, and the convention was held behind closed doors. On the 
2<Sfcli of September a })lau oi union witli England was proposed. 
The Crown was to a[)point the president-general, and the Grand 
Council was to be chosen by the colonial assemblies every three 
years and was to meet annually. The acts of this body were to be 
subject to tlie revision of Parliament, and the acts of Parliament 
were to be subject to the veto of the Grand Council. The power to 
regulate its own internal affairs was left to each colony. Tliis plan 
met with opposition from the Royalists and from some of the Whigs, 
and was the end of such proposed unions in America. Massachu- 
setts was at this time in direct contact with Pritisli vessels and 
regulations, and much of the time of Congress was spent in passing 
resolutions of aid and sympathy to that province. 

The convention finally decided to make three moves: (1) To 
enter into a non-importation, non-consumption, and non-exportation 
agreement or association; (2) to prepare an address to the people 
of England and a memorial to the inhabitants of British America; 
(3) to prepare a loyal address to His Majesty. This work was 
done and Congress adjourned, to meet the 10th of May following, 
uul(!ss a redress of grievances should be made. On the 19th of 
.January, ITT^, tlie petition of the colonies was laid before Parlia- 
miuit and caused great debates. Chatham moved to withdraw 
the troops from Poston, and Purke made his immortal sj)eech, 
but all in vain. I'arliament resolved to stand by the king and 
absolute autliority. Jjord North proposed, as a plan of concilia- 
tion, that each colony as a separate province should be free 
from taxation, except such duties as might be necessary for the 
regulation of the commerce of the whole empire and for general 
defense. Chatham called it "mere mockery." "Everything," said 
he, "but justice will prove vain to men like the Americans, with 
principles of right in their minds and hearts, and with arms in 
tlieir hands to assert these principles." Lord North asserted to 
Franklin that for the sake of peace Parliament might repeal the 
tax on tea and tlie Port Act, but that the Massachusetts Act must be 



GPwOWTH OF GOVERNMENT. 85 

continued. Franklin's brave answer was, ''The people of Massa- 
chusetts must suffer all the hazards and mischiefs of war rather 
than submit to the alteration of their charter and laws by Parlia- 
ment. They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little 
temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety." These were 
the days of importance for the Committees of Safety. They called 
out the militia as news from England became more certain, and in 
the anxious days following, Lexington and Concord were written in 
the undying history of America. 

The plan of North to separate the colonies met with no success. 
Every Colonial Assembly refused separate settlement and referred 
Parliament to Congress. At last union had grown so strong that 
neither England's flattery nor threats could influence it. The 10th 
of May, 1775, came, and with it the Second Continental Congress. 
All the colonies were represented, and Randolph was reelected 
president. On the 31st of May, 1775, Mecklenburg County, North 
Carolina, passed resolutions of independence, a forerunner of that 
great Declaration a year after, On May 24 John Hancock was 
chosen president of the Convention, and on May 26 it resolved to 
present a "humble and dutiful petition to His Majesty," and at the 
same time resolved that the colonies be put into a state of defense. 
It then assumed control of the army around Boston and made rules 
for its government. Washington was unanimously elected com- 
mander-in-chief. There was no competition or envy. How fortu- 
nate the first choice of Congress was! What momentous questions 
rested on that choice ! 

Franklin introduced his second plan for a union, styled the 
United Colonies of North America. Canada and the West Indies 
were to be a part of the same, and Ireland was to become a part of 
the government soon. The plan preserved the local governments 
and created a general government with limited powers. On the 
31st of July, 1775, Congress made answer to North's plan of con- 
ciliation. Suffice it to say that it was sternly rejected, and, as 
Franklin said to North, the hazards of war were rather chosen. 
Bunker Hill was fought, and while the battle was going on news 
came that Congress had placed the army under national control. 
Great joy was felt, for the fight was a decided success to the Ameri- 
cans, and now help would come from all the other colonies. A 
second petition was sent to the king, and his answer was anxiously 
awaited. It was not even received for consideration and was so 



86 INSTITUTIONAL HISTORY OF UNITED STATES. 

reported back to Congress, October 31. This act completed the 
separation. Men rejoiced that now every ship was burned behind 
them, and that the future remained to be determined by themselves. 

Independence was boldly advocated everywhere. Conciliation 
and reconciliation were not desired and would not have been accepted. 
The last petition had been made. " Let us separate," was the prayer 
of Abigail Adams and of the country. The rejection of the second 
petition by the king forever annulled the connection of America and 
England. That rejection was the birth of a new nation. 

From September 5, 1774, to May 10, 1775, was a momentous 
period. In that period the colonists grew from people seeking 
conciliation and union with England to people abhorring thoughts 
of either. At first it was colonies and reconciliation; later it was 
states and revolution. War had begun ; what would be the end? 
1776 had come. On the first day of 1776 Washington first un- 
furled the "flag of thirteen stripes," the colonial flag. From this 
on, the Congressional Journal showed the following acts : Congress 
aimed to enlarge the union ; Congress ordered the Tories to be dis- 
armed; Congress ordered the equipment of privateers; Congress 
ordered the ports thrown open to all nations; Congress dealt with 
foreign powers; etc., etc., showing the tendency in the early days 
of 1776. Legislation was rapid, and independence was the popular 
topic. Congress asked the assemblies to act on separation, and 
many did, advising independence, though there was much opposi- 
tion to it. At last, June 7, 1776, Eichard Henry Lee offered the 
resolution " That these United Colonies are, and of a right ought to 
be, free and independent states. That they are absolved from all 
allegiance to the British Crown and that all political connection 
is and ought to be totally dissolved." John Adams seconded the 
motion. 

The resolution was postponed until the next day. The next 
day was Saturday, and Congress, as a committee of the whole, de- 
bated the resolution, as it did again on Monday, and then the 
debate was postponed until July 1. By the last day of June ten 
colonies ordered their delegates to take direct action on indepen- 
dence, and Georgia and South Carolina ordered theirs to vote for it. 
New York had come to no decision. There were then twelve colo- 
nies ready to declare for independence. On the second day of July 
the resolution was accepted, and the draft of a Declaration of Inde- 
pendence was next considered by Congress as a committee of the 



GROWTH OF GOVERNMENT. 87 

whole. On the evening of the 4th of July the committee rose with 
the Declaration agreed upon, and on the 9th New York accepted it. 
Thus the " Declaration that ought to be hung up in the nursery of 
every king, and blazoned on the j)orch of every royal palace," was 
born out of the fealty and allegiance of a noble and patriotic people, 
who annulled their allegiance as a last resort. So was the United 
States of America born. The ship was launched, but the sea was 
rough, the breakers were high, the pilot was inexperienced, and the 
future was only prophecy. 

The Declaration of Independence transferred the sovereignty of 
the thirteen colonies from the hands of the Crown to those of the 
people. They were now to perform their functions as states, both 
separate and in union. For the next few years the Second Conti- 
nental Congress remained the national political power. The war 
began and ended under its control. Though its power was not 
defined, it assumed largely full control, and the people acquiesced. 
The colonies began organizing separate and independent govern- 
ments for themselves. New Jersey adopted a new constitution in 
convention July 2, 1776, which continued in force sixty-eight 
years; Delaware, September 20, 1776, which was her government 
until 1792; Maryland, November 8, 1776, which was kept seventy- 
five years. This continued until all had adopted state constitutions. 
Six made constitutions before the Declaration, and the remainder 
soon afterwards. In all the constitutions provision was made for 
a threefold government, — executive, legislative, and judicial. In 
some states the executive was limited by a council. Pennsylvania 
and Georgia organized but one legislative branch, the other states 
had two. Four states chose their governors by the people; in the 
other states the legislature chose them. 

The work of forming a national constitution had been going on 
in the meantime in Congress. The successive steps cannot be 
described in this space. The Articles were drafted, and in July, 
1778, nine states had ratified, though they were not binding on any 
till all had signed. Just now vigor and enthusiasm were at a low 
ebb, since the war was seemingly against the states ; but soon all 
hopes were renewed by the surrender of Burgoyne, October 16, 
1777. It was now certain that England could not conquer America. 
France acknowledged the independence of the United States, Feb- 
ruary 6, 1778, and made an alliance with her. She sent the first 
minister ever received by the states, August 6, 1778. The disposi- 



88 INSTITUTIONAL HISTORY OF UNITED STATES. 

tion of the lands claimed by the states was a hindrance to ratifica- 
tion, but in the interest of patriotism and the general good they 
gave their lands to the nation, and on March 1, 1781, Maryland, 
the last state, ratified the Articles. It was a struggle of four years' 
duration in a time of Avar and disorder, but patriotism conquered. 

The union under the Articles consisted of one house of Congress, 
in which each state had one vote. Congress had the sole right to 
determine on war or peace, and to fix the number of men and 
amount of money each state should furnish in case of war. Con- 
gress should form treaties and alliances, establish prize-courts, 
grant letters of marque and reprisal, decide disputes between two 
or more states, borrow money, regulate the value of coin, fix the 
standards of weights and measures, establish post-offices, and con- 
trol the army and navy. 

Local self-government was fully recognized. Power was reserved 
to the states in the following words: "Each state retains its sover- 
eignty, freedom, and independence, and every power, jurisdiction, 
and right which is not by this Confederation expressly delegated to 
the United States in Congress assembled." The right of taxation 
and the regulating of commerce were reserved rights. A committee 
of one from each state was appointed by Congress to sit during a 
recess of that body. 

On June 14, 1777, the flag of thirteen stripes, alternating red and 
white, and thirteen white stars in a blue background was adopted by 
Congress as the national flag. June 20, 1782, the American eagle 
was adopted as the emblem of the nation. It held in its talons an 
olive branch and a bundle of thirteen arrows, and in its beak a 
scroll inscribed "E Pluribus Unum." Over its head were thirteen 
stars on an azure field, while on the reverse side were a pyramid 
unfinished and an eye having over it "Annuit Coeptus," the first 
year. On the base was MDCCLXXYI, and beneath were the words 
"Novus Ordo Seclorum," new order of state. 

The student will note that the Articles made Congress weaker 
and the states stronger. Before the rights were defined, Congress 
assumed much power, and the states acquiesced. Congress now be- 
came little more than an advisory body. There were no executive 
and no judicial departments, except admiralty courts. Sovereignty 
rested in the states and depended upon them for life and sustenance; 
but the settled condition of tlie government gave dignity abroad. 
Exercising its power to adjust difficulties between states, Congress 



GROWTH OF GOVERNMENT. 89 

settled a long dispute between Connecticut and Pennsylvania, in 
which both agreed. But the time was near when the weakness of 
the Articles would be only too apparent. The war was closed by 
treaty in 1783, and a proclamation was announced of the same 
January 14, 1784. War was over. It had been the tie which 
bound the states together. The next five years would prove the 
most dangerous of any yet known by the new republic. It is not 
necessary that the story be minutely told. There were thirteen 
sovereign bodies. What could be expected? Commerce was ruined 
and there was no power to revive it. Everywhere men saw that a 
change was needed. In 1780, 1781, 1782, 1783, 1784, 1785, propo- 
sals to revise the government were made, but no action was taken. 
In 1786 Virginia took the lead, appointed a convention to consider 
the condition of commerce, and invited other states to meet with 
her. On the eleventh day of September, 1786, five states sent dele- 
gates to Annapolis ; but nothing was done save passing a resolution 
to endeavor to secure delegates from all the states to meet at Phila- 
delphia, in May next. 

Affairs grew worse; one state taxed the product of another, 
Shays' Rebellion came up, the laws of Congress were broken every- 
where, and states had already violated the Treaty of Paris. On 
the 14th of May delegates met in Philadelphia, but not having a 
majority they adjourned from day to day until the 25th, when the 
organization was completed, Washington being elected president of 
the Convention. Sixty-five delegates had been chosen, but ten did 
not take their seats. For four months, behind closed doors, the 
Convention sat, no one being allowed to copy the journal. It was 
given to Washington at the close and deposited in the State Depart- 
ment. Congress had it printed in 1818. Madison had taken brief 
notes of the daily doings, and these were printed in 1840. 

When the Federal Convention adjourned, it had adopted the 
present Constitution of the United States. The fight in the Con- 
vention was a hard one, every inch was a struggle, and compromise 
the rule, but the constitutionalists won. The report was then sent 
to Congress, Avhich adopted it and sent the Constitution to the thir- 
teen states for ratification. 

This constitutes another great period in American history. From 
1787 to 1789 the fight in the states was bitter. The state legis- 
latures referred the Constitution to state conventions chosen by the 
people. The fight for national supremacy against local sovereignty 



90 INSTITUTIONAL HISTORY OF UNITED STATES. 

was a hard one for tlie people. To give up a thousand years of 
inherited rights and ideas was no little thing; but again patriotism 
won, over individual desires, and the people through their local 
governments established a national government threefold in its 
nature, like those of the states, and with not only power to legislate 
and advise, but to execute and judge. 

Now the work of making the government was done, and well 
done. How great the struggle was and how noble ! What oppres- 
sion was resisted and what tyranny overthrown! The record is 
engraven on the pages of history. Let us never stain the unblotted 
page save with tears of joy or the blood of patriotism. 



CHAPTER VII. 

MAKING AND RATIFYING THE CONSTITUTION. 

Confederacy — Virginia's Call — Federal Convention — Men — Opinions 
— Executive: Power, Duties, Election, Removal — Judiciary: Duties, 
Election, Number — Senate: Compromise — Power between States 
AND Congress — Ratification — Qualifications of Voters and Offi- 
cers — Slavery — In Congress — In the States — First Congress — 
Electing President. 

THE Confederacy, based on the Articles of Confederation, was 
very weak. Laws could be advised but not enforced. Taxes 
could be levied but not collected. There was no uniformity in trade. 
Each state regulated its own duties, both domestic and foreign. 
Being so separated in trade, the states soon grew apart in other 
respects, until the government of the American states, between 
1783 and 1789, became a jest to the world. 

Virginia called a national convention, in 1786, for the purpose 
of revising the Articles in such a way as to give more power to the 
general government. The convention was held at Annapolis, Mary- 
land. But five states were represented, — New York, New Jersey, 
Pennsylvania, Delaware, and Virginia. These, of course, could do 
nothing definitely, but they made their influence felt. A report, 
advising a general convention, Avas addressed to the states. A copy 
of the report was sent to Congress and that body adopted the follow- 
ing resolution: "Eesolved, That in the opinion of Congress, it is 
expedient that on the second IMonday in May next a convention of 
delegates, appointed by several states, be held in Philadelphia for 
the sole and express purpose of revising the Articles of Confedera- 
tion." All the states except Rhode Island appointed delegates 
to meet at Philadelphia, Monday, May 14, 1787. For want of a 
quorum an organization was not made until May 25, when George 
Washington was chosen chairman by unanimous vote. 

Who were the fifty-five men engaged in the great work of making 

91 



92 INSTITUTIONAL HISTORY OF UNITED STATES. 

a government for a people? Nine were Princeton graduates; four, 
Yale; three, Harvard; two, Columbia; one, Pennsylvania; seven 
had been connected with William and Mary's; one was a jurist, 
who had taught in three of Scotland's universities; another was 
trained at Glasgow; another, at Oxford; and three, in the law school 
of London. Others were learned and wise. Washington, Madison, 
Eandolph, Patterson, Pinckney, Butler, Mason, Hamilton, Sherman, 
Gerry, Wilson, Rutledge, Franklin, Ellsworth, are among the bright- 
est names on the pages of history. They were men patriotic and 
wise enough to save the country in spite of their own personal desires 
and ambition. Great minds know no littleness : statesmen always 
compromise when it is right to do so. Such were the men that stood 
between America, the hope of free government, and civil war, blood- 
shed, and destruction to all the political and religious princij)les loved 
by humanity. 

It is interesting to note the opinions of the men of the Conven- 
tion on the questions before them. Koger Sherman said: "The 
people should have as little to do as may be about their government; 
they lack information and are constantly being misled. Elections 
should be by the state legislatures." "The people are honest but 
are too easily led astray by pretended patriots," said Gerry. Mason, 
of Virginia, replied, "We ought to attend to the rights of every 
class of the people." James Wilson, of Pennsylvania, added, 
"Without the confidence of the people no government can stand, 
nor ought the weight of the state legislatures be increased by making 
them the electors of the national legislation." Madison held that 
the popular election of one branch of the legislature was indispensa- 
ble to free government. Virginia would have placed all the elections 
in the direct care of the people, while New England opposed the 
plan of popular elections. As a compromise between those two 
extremes, the election of senators was given to the state legislatures, 
and that of the representatives to the people. 

The great questions in planning the Executive Department were : 
Shall there be one or more executives? Shall the executive or execu- 
tives be chosen by electors, by state legislatures, by state executives, 
or by one branch of Congress, or by both? What shall be the term 
of office? What power shall be given this department? Sliall it 
declare peace and Avar? Shall it have veto power? Shall it have 
a council? Shall its head or heads be removed by state legislatures, 
by the National Legislature, or by impeachment? All these ques- 



MAKING AND RATIFYING THE CONSTITUTION. 93 

tions and others came up, and in many of them the Convention was 
really without a guide anywhere in the history of governments. 

The majority believed that the executive should not have the 
power to declare peace and war. When this was settled, Pinckney, 
seconded by Wilson, proposed that the department be composed of 
one man. There followed a long silence. Members were timid, it 
all being dark to the most of them. Franklin entreated them to 
give utterance on a point so grave. Eutledge joined him in the 
request and favored Pinckney 's plan, while Sherman, who thought 
that there should be at least a council attached, declared, "The 
legislature is the best judge of the business to be done by the execu- 
tive and should be at liberty from time to time to appoint one or more 
as experience should dictate." "Unity in the executive is the for- 
tress of monarchy," said Randolph, who advocated three members 
for the department. " Unity in the executive will rather be the 
best safeguard against tyranny," answered Wilson. The single- 
executive plan was adopted, and it was decided that the executive 
should carry into effect the national laws, and appoint officers whose 
appointments were not otherwise provided for. 

On the question of electing the executive, Eutledge, of South 
Carolina, advocated an election by the Senate. Wilson said: "Chi- 
merical as it may appear in theory, I am for the election by the 
people. Experience in New York and Massachusetts shows that an 
election of the first magistrate by the people at large is both con- 
venient and successful. The objects of choice in such cases must 
be persons whose merits have general notoriety." 

"I," replied Sherman, "am for its appointment by the national 
legislature and for making it absolutely dependent on that body 
whose will it is to execute. An indei^endence of the executive on 
the supreme legislation is the essence of tyranny." Both these 
gentlemen held that the President should hold office for three years 
and be eligible to reelection. Mason advocated a seven-year term 
and no reelection. Bedford, of Delaware, argued for a three-year 
term and ineligibility after three successive terms. Five and one- 
half states voted for a seven-year term, and seven states voted that 
the executive should not be twice eligible. The electoral plan was 
accepted as the mode of electing the executive, his reeligibility was 
allowed to rest permanently, and his term fixed at four years. 

The manner of removing an executive for cause was also a matter 
of dispute. Dickinson, of Delaware, proposed that a request of the 



94 INSTITUTIONAL HISTORY OF UNITED STATES. 

majority of the state legislatures be sufficient. Sherman proposed 
to give the National Legislature the power to remove the officer of 
the Executive Department. This plan was adopted. 

Wilson and Hamilton desired to place an absolute negative on 
legislation, in the hands of the executive ; but the Convention strongly 
disfavored the absolute plan and adopted that of Gerry, of Massa- 
chusetts, who proposed that a veto should be overruled by a two- 
thirds vote of Congress. 

On the Judiciary Department there was a long, hard struggle, 
which was finally settled by accepting the plan of Virginia to estab- 
lish an independent and national judiciary. The duties of the 
judiciary caused a heated debate. Rutledge and Sherman said that 
business would multiply so enormously for a single final court, that 
it would be impracticable ; he therefore declared that there should 
be many inferior final courts. It was voted to dispense with the in- 
ferior national courts, but Madison and Wilson succeeded in inducing 
the Convention to give the National Legislature power to create 
new inferior courts at its discretion. It was then decided that the 
power of the judiciary should extend to all cases of national reve- 
nue and questions involving the national peace and interest. 

Virginia proposed that the judges be appointed by the legislature. 
Wilson advocated appointment by the executive ; and Madison, by 
the Senate. The final decision was that they should be appointed 
by the President by and with the consent of the Senate, and that 
they should serve during good behavior. 

In the debate on the Senate the equalization of states caused 
great dispute. Should population be the basis of representation, or 
should one state have as much power as any other? The small states 
favored the latter, and some of the larger ones desired the former. 
Pinckney favored dividing the states periodically into three classes 
according to their importance ; the first class to have three senators 
each; the second, two each; and the third, one each. The dispute 
waxed hot, but Franklin, ever the calm, wise peacemaker of the 
Convention, cautioned against temper and rashness, and then the 
body went into the committee of the whole to discuss the question. 
Six states — Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Virginia, North and 
South Carolina, and Georgia — favored representation on a ratio of 
population. New York, New Jersey, and Delaware favored equal 
representation. Connecticut stood between these extremes and 
brought about a compromise, called the Connecticut Compromise, 



MAKING AND RATIFYING THE CONSTITUTION. 95 

which arranged that the first branch of Congress should be distrib- 
uted according to a ratio of population, and that the states should 
be equal in the second branch. In 1783 Congress had apportioned 
the supplies of the states for the common treasury to the whole 
number of free inhabitants and three-fifths of all other persons. 
This ratio was made the basis of representation in the first branch. 
The eligibility of members of Congress and their time of service 
were taken up at this stage. Sherman and Ellsworth proposed an 
annual election for the first branch. Madison proposed a three 
years' service; but to satisfy the Eastern states the length of time 
was fixed at two years. The Convention provided that the members 
of the House should be at least twenty-five years old ; and those of 
the Senate, at least thirty years old. 

A very delicate and difficult task was the apportioning of power 
between the states and general government. Sherman moved " to 
make laws by Congress which should concern the common interest 
and should not interfere with the government of states, and matters 
of internal police." This was objected to because it might interfere 
with the rights of taxation by the general government. Another 
motion was made "to legislate for the general interests in cases for 
which the states were severally incompetent or in which the har- 
mony of the United States might be interrupted by the exercise of 
individual legislation." This was accepted by every state except 
South Carolina and Georgia. 

The Convention then took from the New Jersey plan the prin- 
ciple "that the laws and treaties of the United States should be the 
supreme law of the states and bind their judiciaries notwithstanding 
their own laws to the contrary." That all power not delegated to 
the general government remained with the states was also accepted. 
Thus in two hours the Convention distributed power between the 
states and general government. 

The Convention was much divided over the manner of ratifying 
the new Constitution. Ellsworth thought that it should be done by 
the state legislatures. Mason held that the state legislatures had no 
power to do such, and that if they had it would be dangerous to have 
them do it, as succeeding legislatures could undo the work. " To 
the people belongs this right," said Mason. After a long debate the 
ratification was referred to assemblies in each state, chosen by the 
people for that purpose only. 

Erom August 6 to September 10, 1787, the Constitution was 



96 INSTITUTIONAL HISTORY OF UNITED STATES. 

taken up iu detail. The name "United States of America" was 
affixed and the preamble adopted. It was declared that " The gov- 
ernment shall consist of supreme legislative, executive, and judicial 
powers." The Legislative Department was called Congress, the 
first branch of which was named the House of Representatives, and 
the second the Senate. The executive was given the name Presi- 
dent. It was decided that the members of Congress should be paid 
out of the general treasury, rather than from the state treasuries. 
The compensation was to be fixed by law. 

Pinckuey moved "That a president shall have $100,000 or 
more as a property qualification for election; and supreme judge 
and congressman, half as much." Franklin answered, "I dislike 
everything that tends to debase the spirit of tlie common peo- 
ple." His principle triumphed. The question of suffrage brought 
out many opinions. Morris desired to restrict the right of suf- 
frage, and said that the qualifications of electors for members of 
the National Legislature should not be left for the states to fix. 
Ellsworth declared the states to be the best judge of the temper of 
their own people. "Every man who pays a tax should vote for the 
men Avho levy the tax," said the same delegate, " Abridgment of 
the right of suffrage tends to revolution," said Butler. "The free- 
holders are the best guardians of liberty, and the restriction of 
suffrage to them is a necessary defense against the dangerous influ- 
ence of those multitudes without property and without principles 
with wliich our country, like all others, Avill in time abound," said 
Dickinson. Morris declared : " The time is not far distant when the 
country will abound with laborers, who will receive their bread from 
their employers. Will such men be secure and faithful guardians 
of liberty? The ignorant dependent can be as little trusted as a 
child. Nine-tenths of the people are freeholders, and they will cer- 
tainly be pleased with the restriction." Mason said, "The true 
idea is that every man having evidence of attachment for the country 
ought to share in all its rights and privileges." Madison claimed 
it would be unsafe to trust the poor. Franklin held that all should 
vote. It was finally decided that each state should decide for itself 
who should vote. 

The evils of slavery were so prominent to the Convention that 
it would have been easy to do away with it altogetlier, but Georgia 
and South Carolina opposed any restrictions. As a compromise, it 
was decided that no law should be made before 1808 restricting the 



MAKING AND RATIFYING THE CONSTITUTION. 97 

importation of slaves, and that a duty not to exceed ten dollars per 
person might be placed on such importations. 

On the 20th of September, 1787, the Constitution was properly 
signed. But still it received bitter opposition in Congress and 
the states. Richard Henry Lee was the leader in this opposi- 
tion. Dane, of Massachusetts, and all of the New York delegates 
were sternly opposed to a closer union. Madison was able to carry 
Virginia for the Constitution in Congress. First it was objected 
that the new government would put an end to the Continental Con- 
gress, and in recommending the Constitution the members of that 
Congress were simply signing their own death warrant. This argu- 
ment, however, was not long considered. In spite of the opposition, 
Congress, after eight days, voted to send the Constitution, accom- 
panied by Washington's letter, to the states for ratification. There 
it would be submitted to conventions. 

As soon as the Constitution went to the people of the states, they 
began to divide over its adoption, and thus our first political parties 
sprang up. The Eevolution had divided the country into Whigs 
and Tories, but these were more war parties than political, and gave 
way to the Federalists, who favored the Constitution, and to the 
Anti-Federalists, who opposed it. 

Pennsylvania was the first state to bring up a contest over the 
new government. Prior to the submission of the Constitution to 
the states, a bill to call a convention was presented in the legislature 
of that state. The Anti-Federalists had a peculiar advantage in 
Pennsylvania, since there was but one legislative house there. To 
accept the Constitution with the electoral college and tAvo houses 
would directly condemn her own state government. To prevent a 
vote, the minority in the legislature remained away, but the Federal 
majority the next day sent a committee to the rooms of two Anti- 
Federal members, captured them, brought them into the legislature, 
and held them in their seats while the house proceeded to business. 
This made a quorum, and a state convention was called for Novem- 
ber 20, 1787. About this time a messenger arrived from Con- 
gress stating that it had agreed to submit the Constitution to the 
states. Then followed a newspaper and pamphlet war that perhaps 
has never been excelled in the country. Wilson was mercilessly 
maligned, and Washington was called a born fool. 

The chief objections in Pennsylvania to the Constitution were, 
that it created a legislature of individual votes instead of votes by 



98 INSTITUTIONAL HISTORY OF UNITED STATES. 

states; it gave Congress sole power of taxation; it gave too nmch 
power to the judiciary; paid the congressmen out of the national 
treasury and thus made them independent of the state; and it 
required an oath of allegiance to the Federal government from state 
officers, which might conflict with their duties toward the state. 

For three weeks the state convention debated. News came that 
Delaware had ratified by a unanimous vote, making it the leader in 
the important work. A few days afterwards Pennsylvania ratified 
by 4G votes to 23. This was the 6th of December. New Jersey 
ratified by a unanimous vote on the IStli of the same month. Three 
states, one-third of the number required, had ratified within two 
weeks. It was a victory for the constitutionalists, which was all 
the greater because two small states had ratified, and it was sup- 
posed that the greatest opposition would come from them ; but they 
were won by the Connecticut Compromise. In Eastern Pennsyl- 
vania the people rejoiced at the ratification of the Constitution, but 
in the western part of the state they rose in mobs and threatened 
rebellion. 

The Anti-Federal hope lay with the Southern states after the 
objection of the small states was removed, but the compromise on 
the slave issue had overcome objections there and Georgia unani- 
mously ratified January 2, 1788. In the North, Connecticut fol- 
lowed the next week by a vote of 128 to 40. It seemed that the 
Anti-Federal hope was blasted, but the party turned its attention 
towards Massachusetts. Let that state refuse to ratify and it would 
be a death-blow to the new government, even if nine states should 
ratify. Tliere were many, obstructing elements there — Shays' 
Rebellion was still remembered, and that made the people fear the 
general government; Maine did not desire a Federal union, for then 
her chances for independence would be impaired; the town meeting 
was popular, and delegated powers were looked upon with suspicion ; 
the people believed in managing their own affairs and disliked 
representative work; and their school of government had taught 
them reverence and love for local rule, and it was hard to give it up 
for a national rule by representatives far from the Massachusetts 
homes. 

The Constitution was thoroughly studied clause by clause by the 
state convention. It was said that two years was too long a period 
for representatives to hold office. It would not do to delegate power 
for so long a time to any man. Again they objected to the size of 



MAKING AND RATIFYING THE CONSTITUTION. 99 

the District of Columbia. Ten miles was too large a space to give 
up to the absolute control of the government, one delegate saying 
he would vote for the Constitution if thej^ would cut the territory 
down to one square mile. The standing army was objected to, for 
that might allow a Ceesar or Cromwell to usurp power. One mem- 
ber in severe bombast said, " Had I the voice of Jove, I would pro- 
claim it throughout the world; and had I an arm like Jove, I would 
hurl from the globe those villains that would dare attempt to estab- 
lish in our country a standing army." 

An earnest objection to the Constitution by Massachusetts was 
that it did not mention God and had no religious test for offi- 
cers. The ministers generally liked this, however, and opposed 
any such test. The power, delegated to Congress, to provide the 
time, place, and manner of holding elections, was not liked, since 
that body might refuse to provide such, and thus destroy freedom 
of government. So objections were made with more or less cause 
almost indefinitely. It was hard for the people to trust officers, 
lawyers, and wealthy merchants. These men, they feared, would 
get possession of the government, and conduct it as they desired. 

The Convention was very evenly divided, so nearly so that one 
voice would probably be able to reject or adopt the Constitution, and 
that voice had not yet spoken. It was awaited anxiously. Samuel 
Adams had listened for two weeks to both sides, and all eagerly 
desired to hear his voice for or against; for that would probably 
decide the fate of the Constitution in Massachusetts and conse- 
quently in America. The influence of Samuel Adams was truly 
wonderful. In the Convention he asked a member why the term 
of a representative was made two years. The reply was given that 
it was the best compromise that could be made. Adams' reply 
was, "I am satisfied." "Will Mr. Adams say that again?" said a 
member. "I am satisfied," he repeated, and not another word was 
said on the subject. Mr. Adams' " I am satisfied " settled forever 
the whole question for the Convention, so great was the faith of the 
people in him. 

Washington lent his aid to the Constitution by declaring that it 
was the best the people could make at that time, and it provided a 
way for amending it. This was the key to the whole objection in 
Massachusetts. The people objected because the Constitution did 
not insure religious liberty, freedom of speech and press, the right 
to assemble peaceably, and to petition the government. The Quar- 



100 INSTITUTIONAL HISTORY OF UNITED STATES. 

tering Act was not prohibited, nor search-warrants, nor burning at 
the stake, nor the use of the rack, etc. To Massachusetts, all these 
were grave objections, but by amendments they might be overcome, 
so the Convention decided to ratify and propose certain amendments. 
This was done, and the first ten amendments to the Constitution 
were the result. After these obstacles were removed tlie Conven- 
tion, by a vote of 187 to IGS, ratified the Constitution, February G, 
1788, almost one montli after the first day of its meeting, whicli 
was January 9. Massachusetts was the sixth state to ratify, and 
though the fight had been bitter, all seemed perfectly satisfied when 
an agreement was made. 

New Hampshire's convention met about this time, bvit adjourned 
until June, 1788, to see how other states would act. Maryland met 
on April 21, 1788. Patrick Henry had been working all the year 
to get the Southern States to form a Southern Confederacy. He 
had made very little headway anywhere. Washington's name in 
favor of the Constitution was a great influence in the states. Be- 
cause he favored the new government and agreed to accept the 
presidency if elected, many men were won to the Constitution. In 
Maryland this Avas especially so, and after five days' session the 
state ratified the Constitution by 63 ayes to 12 noes. The Anti- 
Federalists claimed a victory in the adjournment in New Hamp- 
shire, but it was more than made up when Maryland ratified. 

The great question with the people now was, what Avill South 
Carolina do? Her convention was to meet the 12th of May. Slav- 
ery was the great question there. Some wanted a permanent and 
unrestricted slave-trade, and the Constitution provided only that it 
should not be interfered with for twenty years. Pinckney's voice 
quieted the alarm by making the convention believe that while the 
Constitution was not just as they wanted it, yet it was nearly so, 
and that slavery could never be extinguished since the Constitution 
made no provisions for prohibiting it. Another objection was that 
New England would monopolize commerce. Then paper money 
became a question, since South Carolina wished to issue such. All 
these availed notliing, for on the 23d of May South Carolina rati- 
fied the Constitution by a vote of 149 to 73. Eight states had now 
ratified, but one more was needed; Virginia was the probable one. 
If the Anti-Federalists expected to accomplish anything, they must 
keep Virginia from ratifying. 

When South Carolina and Maryland ratified, the best hopes of 



MAKING AND RATIFYING THE CONSTITUTION. 101 

the Anti-Federalist party were destroyed, yet it was still very strong 
and influential in Virginia. A strong feeling also existed there for 
a Southern Confederacy, with Patrick Henry as a leader. He was 
ably supported by Mason, Lee, Grayson, Benjamin Harrison, and 
Tyler. The last two were fathers of future presidents. Also Ben- 
jamin Harrison was the great grandfather of Benjamin Harrison, 
the president. But the great Madison was a match for all. He 
won every battle. Kandolph and " Light Horse Harry " Lee assisted 
him. John Marshall, the greatest American jurist, then only thirty- 
three years old, stood in the Federal ranks. There was no possible 
defeat for such men as Madison, Kandolph, and Marshall, aided by 
the influence of Washington. After a fight of three weeks Virginia 
made the tenth state to accept the Constitution, having given 89 
votes for and 79 against it. New Hampshire had made the ninth 
to ratify four days before by 57 ayes to 46 noes, and the Constitu- 
tion became the government of the United States. Virginia made 
the union possible and successful. Though there were nine states 
without it, yet with the state of Washington, Jefferson, Madison, 
Randolph, and Marshall, out of the new government, what could the 
country do? When Virginia ratified, men said the new government 
had won and would succeed. Before that it was very dovibtful. 

Though now the new government could go into effect, there was 
still a great obstacle in the way of its success. New York had not 
ratified the Constitution, and from its geographical position it inter- 
fered greatly with the direct intercourse of the North and South. 
The country was separated by a great state. The people were 
strongly impressed with the idea that the new government could 
not exist without New York, and threats were made to force it into 
the Union. It seemed at first that it would never voluntarily come 
in. At least two-thirds of its delegates at the Convention were at 
first Anti-Federalists. The state convention met on the 17th of 
June. Governor Clinton was the leader of the Anti-Federal party 
and was the bitterest hater the Constitution had. It was then that 
Hamilton, Madison, and Jay published their great papers, the " Fed- 
eralists," which are now the best authority on government in print. 
There were eighty-five of these essays published under the name 
"Publius," in the Independent Gazette. Jay wrote five; Madi- 
son, twenty-nine; and Hamilton, the others. Jay's were diplomatic 
in character. Hamilton was the giant of the three in this especial 
work, as Madison's attention was called away to fight the battle of 



102 INSTITUTIONAL HISTORY OF UNITED STATES. 

the Constitution in Virginia. It was Hamilton that brought New 
York into the union ranks. A great majority, strong in numbers and 
ability, were against him, and it was his eloquence, week after week, 
that finally broke the opposing ranks and brought the greatest de- 
bater in the country, Melanchthon Smith, over to the Federal party. 

After this victory the rest was comparatively easy. The state 
had its hardest fight over the question whether or not it could ratify 
conditionally, that is, could come in, and withdraw if it desired. 
This brought up the question of secession, and Hamilton quoted 
Madison, saying, "No, such a thing could never be done. A state 
that has once ratified is in the Union forever. There is no such 
thing as a constitutional right of secession." This settled. New 
York ratified by the close vote of 30 to 28. The new government 
now began. It did not wait for North Carolina and Rhode Island. 
The convention in North Carolina met July 21, 1788, and adjourned 
without motion, August 1. North Carolina had the same objections 
as Virginia, and also objected to the limitations on the issue of 
paper money. The state met the second time, November 21, 1789, 
and ratified by a vote of 193 to 75. Rhode Island had a strong 
paper money party that was hard to overcome, and it was not until 
May 29, 1790, that she ratified, by a vote of 34 to 32, thus complet- 
ing the union of the thirteen original states. The long fight was at 
last over. Government, strong as well as free, had won its victory. 

As soon as the Constitution became the government, the states 
elected their representatives and senators to form the first Congress. 
They also proceeded to nominate and elect the electors who were to 
elect the President. The electors were nominated by the state 
legislatures and elected by the people. They (the electors) then 
elected the President. The first session of Congress was an extra 
session called to count the votes for President, March 4, 1789. For 
various reasons not enough members assembled to make a quorum 
until April 0, 1789, when George Washington was declared Presi- 
dent of the United States. Washington arrived in New York about 
three weeks after April 6, and was inaugurated April 30, 1789. 

Congress assembled in its first regular session January 4, 1790, 
and the new government began its real existence. From the rati- 
fication of the Constitution to the meeting of Congress, March 4, 
1789, either the Continental Congress was in session, or the Com- 
mittee of Thirteen, one from each of the states, had control of 
affairs. 



MAKING AND RATIFYING THE CONSTITUTION. 103 

It was by compromise and bitter contention that the new govern- 
ment was organized. It has been by compromise and strife that it 
has lived. The Stars and Stripes float to the breezes at a fearful 
cost of life and money, but through it all the Constitution, so nobly 
given the country by the Federal Convention in the days of dark- 
ness and weakness, has gained strength and favor. It is a noble 
monument of patriotism and wisdom, and shall stand while the 
American people are worthy of good government. 



CHAPTER VIII. 

JUDICIAL DEPARTMENT. 

Constitutional Provision — Organization — Midnight Judges — Court of 
Claims — District of Columbia — Circuit Court of Appeals — Court 
OF Private Land Claims — Grades of Judges and Courts — Meeting 

— Number of Courts and Judges — Salaries — Seventh Circuit — 
Classes as to Jurisdiction — Concurrent and Exclusive — Jurisdic-. 
TiON of Supreme Court — Procedure of a Suit — State Courts — Law 

— English and American Courts — Chief-Justices. 

THE Constitution provides for an independent Judicial Depart- 
ment as stated in the following: "The Judicial power of the 
United States shall be vested in one Supreme Court, and in such 
inferior courts as the Congress may from time to time ordain and 
establish. The Judges, both of the Supreme and Inferior Courts, 
shall hold their office during good behavior and shall, at stated 
times, receive for their services a compensation which shall not be 
diminished during their continuance in office." 

The Constitution thus makes definite arrangement for the 
Supreme Court only, and leaves it to Congress to establish inferior 
courts as it deems them necessary. The reader will understand, 
then, that these courts are changed frequently, and that no discus- 
sion would be accurate for a great length of time. The discussion 
in this chapter will speak of the department as it is in 1897. 

Congress proceeded to organize the Supreme Court in 1789. It 
also organized two classes of inferior courts, called the Circuit 
Court and District Court. This organization gave us three courts, 
but they Avere placed in charge of two classes of judges, — supreme 
and district judges. The country was divided into thirteen dis- 
tricts, a judge was appointed over each, and court was in session 
four times yearly. The thirteen districts were grouped into three 
parts and each part was called a ( -ircuit, in which a session was held 
twice a year by the Circuit Court. A judge of the Supreme Court 

104 



JUDICIAL DEPARTMENT. 105 

and the district judge presided over the Circuit Courts until 1869. 
Then, by act of Congress, circuit judges were appointed over the 
Circuit Court. In the same year Congress provided that any 
Federal judge, seventy years old or more, may resign on full pay 
for life, after having served on the bench ten years. 

In 1801, when the Federal party, led by John Adams, went out 
of power. Congress, to perpetuate the party, passed a law providing 
for twenty-three circuit judges. Adams appointed them from the 
Federal party, the last act of his administration, near midnight, 
March o. Because of this the judges were called Midnight Judges. 
These appointments, of course, perpetuated Federal judicial power, 
although the people had repudiated the party. It was a political 
scheme, — one of the first in our country's history, — and the Anti- 
Federal Congress repealed the act within a year. 

In 1855 a Court of Claims was established at Washington, which 
is presided over by five judges, who meet annually on the first 
Monday in December. This is a court in which persons may bring 
claims against the United States. The salary of the judges is 
$4500 each per year. If a person establish his claim before this 
court, he must then carry it to Congress, and it must pass a bill 
allowing the claim before the plaintiff can receive his rights. Con- 
gress, however, is not bound to allow the claim, even after the court 
does. Before this court was organized, the only way one could 
secure his claims from the government was to petition Congress. 
The court serves as a committee on claims which individuals have 
against the government. A person may carry his claim direct to 
Congress, but he is more likely to receive notice if the claim comes 
from the Court of Claims. Congress then feels it a sense of justice 
to provide for the judgment. If the plaintiff should not be satisfied 
with the judgment, he can appeal it to the Supreme Court. 

The District of Columbia has a Supreme Court, with a chief- 
justice and five associates. This court exercises jurisdiction over 
the District of Columbia only. Its judges are appointed by the 
President with the consent of the Senate, to serve during good 
behavior. The salary is $5000. There is also a Court of Appeals 
in the district, superior to the District Supreme Court. This court 
is presided over by a chief -justice and two associates. The salary 
of the former is $6500; of the latter, $6000 each. Below these 
courts are a Circuit Court, Equity Court, District Court, and 
Criminal Court. 



106 INSTITUTIONAL HISTORY OF UNITED STATES. 

In 1891 the Circuit Court of Appeals for the United States was 
established in each of the nine circuit districts. The same act pro- 
vided for nine more circuit judges. These Circuit Courts of Ap- 
peals were organized because the work of the Supreme Court had 
grown so large that it was five years behind with its cases. This 
was largely because of the appeals brought from the Circuit Courts. 
Now many of these cases are appealed to the Circuit Court of Ap- 
peals, which has final jurisdiction over minor cases. It is wholly 
a court of appeals. Cases come to it from the Circuit Courts and 
District Courts. A Court of Private Land Claims was organized in 
1891 and expired in 1896. There were a chief-justice and four 
associates over this court, with a salary of $5000 each yearly. 

Our Federal Judicial system is as follows: (1) Supreme Court; 
(2) Circuit Court of Appeals; (3) Circuit Court; (4) District Courts; 
(5) Court of Claims. Number 5 has been discussed, and shall not 
receive more attention. 

There are now three grades of Federal judges, — Supreme, Cir- 
cuit, and District. But these three grades have charge of four 
kinds of courts, — Supreme, Appellate, Circuit, and District. All 
the Federal judges are appointed by the President with the consent 
of the Senate, to serve during good behavior. The circuit judges, 
of whom there are twenty, are judges of the Circuit Court and 
Courts of Appeals. The Supreme Court consists of the chief -justice 
and eight associates, six being a quorum. It meets at Washington 
on the first Monday in October of each year. The Circuit Court of 
Appeals is in charge of three judges : the elder judge of the circuit, 
and associate judge, and the younger judge of the circuit or a 
district judge, two of whom are a quorum. A Circuit Court is in 
the charge of an associate judge, circuit judge, and district judge, 
or any two of these. The District Courts are in the charge of the 
district judges. There are sixty-four District Courts, and as many 
judges of the same. Salaries range as follows: supreme chief- 
justice, $10,500; associate justices, $10,000; circuit and appel- 
late judges, $6000; and district judges, $3500 to $5000. In 
order to illustrate the nature of Federal courts, I shall discuss the 
Seventh Circuit. The states of Indiana, Illinois, and Wisconsin 
constitute that circuit. It is divided into five Judicial Districts: 
the District of Indiana, the Northern District of Illinois, the South- 
ern District of Illinois, the Eastern District of Wisconsin, and the 
"Western District of Wisconsin. In the District of Indiana the Dis- 



JUDICIAL DEPARTMENT. 107 

trict and Circuit Courts are held at Indianapolis on the first Tues- 
days of May and November ; at New Albany on the first Mondays 
in January and July; at Evansville on the first Mondays of April 
and October ; and at Fort Wayne on the second Tuesdays in June 
and December; and two sessions annually, at Fort Wayne, at such 
times as the judge may appoint. 

In the Northern District of Illinois the Circuit and District 
Courts are held at Chicago on the first Monday in July and the 
third Monday in December; and at Peoria on the third Mondays 
of April and October. In the Southern District of Illinois the Cir- 
cuit and District Courts are held at Springfield on the first Mon- 
days in January and June ; at Danville on the first Monday of May ; 
and terms of the District Court alone are held at Cairo on the first 
Mondays of March and October. In the Eastern District of Wiscon- 
sin, terms of the Circuit and District Courts are held at Oshkosh on 
the second Tuesday of July ; and at Milwaukee on the first Mondays 
of January and October. In the Western District of Wisconsin, 
terras of the Circuit and District Courts are held at Madison on the 
first Monday in June; and at La Crosse on the third Tuesday in 
September. The Circuit Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit 
holds its session in Chicago. 

The Attorney-General conducts suits in the Supreme Court in 
which the United States is a party. The jurisdiction of each court, 
and the kinds of suits which are brovight to each, cannot be treated 
fully in this work; but it is hoped that the reader will get a reason- 
ably clear idea of these points. Courts are of four classes as to 
jurisdiction, — original, appellate, final, and those having both origi- 
nal and appellate powers. If a case on first trial must go to a cer- 
tain court, that court has original jurisdiction, and if the suit cannot 
be appealed from that court, it has final jurisdiction also. If no 
case can be appealed to a court, it has only original jurisdiction, 
and if cases cannot begin in a court, it has only appellate jurisdic- 
tion. If cases begin in a certain court and be appealed to it, it has 
both original and appellate jurisdiction. 

The Supreme Court has original, appellate, and final jurisdic- 
tion; the Circuit Court of Appeals has appellate and final, but no 
original jurisdiction. Circuit Courts and District Courts have origi- 
nal jurisdiction only. Cases can be appealed from these courts to 
the Court of Appeals and Supreme Court. Two other terms are 
used in connection with powers of courts, — - concurrent and exclu- 



108 INSTITUTIONAL HISTORY OF UNITED STATES. 

sive. When a case may be entered in either one of two or more 
courts, those courts have concurrent power. When a case must 
begin in a certain court, that court is said to have exclusive power. 

The Supreme Court has original power in the following cases : 
(1) in all cases affecting ambassadors; (2) in cases affecting public 
ministers and consuls; (3) in controversies between two or more 
states; (4) in controversies between a state and citizen of another 
state; (5) in controversies between a state and foreign citizens, 
states, and subjects. The Eleventh Amendment provides that a 
citizen of one state or of a foreign country shall not sue another 
state. As the Constitution first provided, it was thought by some 
that the act allowing a state to sue a citizen also meant a citizen 
might sue a state. To certrJnly define the jurisdiction of the 
Supreme Court over those matters the Eleventh Amendment was 
passed, not allowing a person to sue a state or United States; but 
a state or the United States may sue a person. If a person have a 
claim against a state or the nation, he must apply finally to the 
legislature; the courts can do nothing for him. 

There are five cases mentioned above in which the Supreme 
Court has original jurisdiction. These cases are of two classes, — 
those affecting ambassadors and other foreign ministers, and cases 
in which a state is a party. Public ministers from other countries 
to the United States are not subject to law, as other persons are, 
but must receive national protection or punishment. Therefore 
such are subject to the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court only. In 
cases in which a state is a party, it would not be just to leave the 
settlement to the state involved, so the national Supreme Court 
must take charge of those cases. 

The Supreme Court has aj^pellate jurisdiction both in law and 

fact, (1) in cases of admiralty and maritime jurisdiction; (2) in 

•controversies in which the United States is a party; (3) in suits 

between citizens of different states ; (4) in suits between citizens of 

the same state claiming lands under grants of different states. 

All cases originating on the sea would, of course, pass to a 
Eederal court. They must first be tried in a District Court if of 
minor importance; but if of a grave nature, in the (Urcuit Court. 
From there an appeal may be taken to the Suj)reme ('ourt. Where 
the United States is a party to a suit, it must bring action first in a 
District or (Jircuit (Jourt, according to the importance of the case, 
and then an a})peal may be taken to the Court of Appeals or Supreme 



JUDICIAL DEPARTMENT. 109 

Court, depending on the nature of the case. An appeal in some 
cases may be taken from the Court of Appeals to the Supreme Court. 

A citizen of one state may bring a civil action in the Circuit 
Court against a citizen of another state in a case involving more 
than five hundred dollars excluding cost. An alien may sue or be 
sued in the same court under the same conditions. Matters involv- 
ing revenue and copyrights must be tried first in the Circuit Court. 
Land claims against a state are questions for Federal settlement 
only, as a state, being a party to the issue, would hardly be a fair 
judge. Appeals may be taken from the District and Circuit Courts 
directly to the Supreme Court in the following cases : where the 
jurisdiction of the court is at issue; where prize-cases are unsettled, 
as questions growing out of captured goods on the sea; where any 
capital or infamous crime involving a Federal question is to be 
judged; where any constitutional question or treaty is before the 
court ; and where a constitution or law of a state is in contradiction 
to a constitutional law of the United States. In other cases the 
decision must be appealed from the District or Circuit Court to the 
Circuit Court of Appeals, and when of sufiicient importance may be 
appealed from there to the Supreme Court. 

The Federal courts deal wholly with Federal questions. Other 
questions are left to the jurisdiction of state courts. Cases begin- 
ning in a state court may be appealed to the Supreme Court of the 
United States, if they involve a construction of the Constitution of 
the United States, or of an enactment of Congress. 

When a suit is begun in the Circuit or District Court, it remains 
there until a final judgment is announced in favor of one of the 
parties involved. By a final judgment is meant a judgment that 
finally and fully terminates the suit. Now if, during the proceed- 
ings in the court where the case was tried, the court made rulings 
on points of law unfavorable to the party against whom the judg- 
ment was rendered, and the party believed the rulings of the court 
to be wrong, and properly objected to the rulings at the time they 
Avere made, he may appeal the case to the Supreme or Appellate 
('ourt, according to the nature of the case, and have one of these 
courts pass upon the same question. The appeal requires the 
records of the proceedings in the court, where the trial was had, to 
be written out in full, so as to show the ruling to which objection 
was made, and what was before the court to make it necessary to 
rule on that question. The court to which the case was appealed 



110 INSTITUTIONAL HISTORY OF UNITED STATES. 

then examines the record and decides whether the rulings are cor- 
rect. If they are correct, the judgment rendered by the trial court 
is affirmed and stands as the judgment in the case. If any one of 
the rulings of the trial court were wrong, then the party against 
whom the ruling was made has not had a fair and impartial trial, 
and the judgment against him is set aside or modified. The case 
is sent back to the court whence it came, which is directed to begin 
at the point where the error was made and proceed anew to a final 
judgment in the case. Sometimes this necessitates a new trial and 
sometimes it does not, as the error may have been committed in the 
rendering of the judgment after the trial, in which case the order 
of the Appellate Court would be to begin at that point and render a 
proper judgment. The opinion or decision of the court to which 
the case was appealed is written out in full and is certified to the 
court from which the case came. These opinions are published in 
book form and constitute the great bulk of legal literature known 
as "law reports" or "case law." 

Each state has a system of courts on substantially the same 
model as the system of United States courts. The judges of the 
state courts generally are elected instead of appointed, and serve for 
a term of years instead of during good behavior, the term being 
usually from four to eight years. The justice of the peace is 
peculiar to the states, there being no such court in the system of 
Federal courts. This is a court for the trial of minor causes, and 
an appeal may be made to the Circuit, and from there to the Su- 
preme Court of the state, if the case is of sufficient importance. 
The appeal is not like an ordinary appeal to an Appellate or Supreme 
Court of the United States, where the record is reviewed for errors; 
but it is to vacate the judgment and secure a new trial in the court 
to which the appeal is taken, as if no trial had been had before. 
Generally when the amount involved is small, say fifty dollars or 
less, and an appeal is taken from the Justice's Court to the Circuit 
Court, and judgment rendered there, no appeal can be made from 
that judgment to the Supreme or Appellate Court of the state. 

The Federal and state courts have as sources of law for their 
guidance the statute laws and the common law. The statute law is 
a comparatively small part of our law, and can easily be understood, 
as it is the enactments of Congress and tlie state legislatures. But 
the common law is not so easily understood or defined. Holland 
defines law as " A general rule of civil conduct or of external human 



JUDICIAL DEPARTMENT. Ill 

action enforced, or at all events purporting to be enforced, by a 
sovereign political authority." Judge Dillon has said, "If you ask 
me to define law, I can, speaking as a lawyer, do no better than to 
adopt Professor Holland's definition. If you ask me to enumerate 
all of the ultimate sources whence legal rights and duties originate, 
and how these are evolved, I hide my diminished head and confess 
my inability satisfactorily to formulate an answer." Common law 
might be spoken of (but not defined) as a rule of action for all per- 
sons under the same circumstances, which if enforced by the state 
would result in the greatest good to the greatest number. 

A case is on trial in a court of justice, and the judge finds a 
point in the case where no rule of action has been marked out by 
a statute. The court must have a rule to apply; he says that the 
rule which, under circumstances similar to these, would, in the 
greatest number of cases, result in the greatest good to the greatest 
number of persons is the rule to apply. The wisdom of man can 
do no better than this. So argument is made that each party may 
have an opportunity to show to the court what that rule must be, 
and after argument and careful deliberation the court decides what 
he conceives to be that rule. That rule then becomes the law of 
that case, for it will be enforced by the execution of the judgment 
of the court. But the rule, not being of legislative enactment, is 
not binding upon that or any other court in the trial of a similar 
case ; but after the rule has been affirmed by a Supreme or Appel- 
late Court the opinion of such court will carry great weight in the 
presenting of the same question to other courts, and will most likely 
be followed by them. 

In this sense of the term " common law," we have no common law 
of the United States. A general statute becomes, when enacted by 
Congress, a law all over the United States, and if it conflict with a 
statute of a state, the state statute must give way, no matter in 
what court the question arises. Not so as to common law. We 
have no provision by which the common law of the United States 
could overturn the common law of the state in case of a conflict. 
So that if the United States had a common law, there might be two 
different laws in force in the same territory at the same time. This 
difficulty is met by the United States courts adopting in each state 
the common law of the state, so far as that law has been established 
by precedent in the opinions of the state courts. The custom of 
following precedent established by former decisions is peculiar to 



112 INSTITUTIONAL HISTORY OF UNITED STATES. 

the courts of England and America. Its wisdom is not doubted at 
this time. There have been and are now advocates of the code, 
who believe it possible to enact the greater part of the general and 
fundamental rules that are now well established by precedent, into 
statutes, and this is perhaps not impractical; but no mind can 
anticipate all or nearly all the questions that will arise even in a 
single day in the civilization of this age. The best we can do is to 
meet the issues as they arise and then follow the precedents until 
we conclude them to be wrong. 

The courts of the United States differ from the courts of Eng- 
land in their power to declare a law unconstitutional. And this 
power greatly magnifies the importance of the former's judiciary. 
If the English Parliament enact a law, there is no written consti- 
tution with which it might conflict, and no court in England could 
say it is not the law. But if Congress or a state legislature should 
pass a law contrary to the constitution of the state or nation, it is 
the duty of any court, even to a justice of the peace, when called 
upon to enforce the law, to decline to do so because it is no law. 
And to refuse to enforce it for that reason is to declare it unconsti- 
tutional. In the Constitutional Convention it was doubted whether 
the courts would have that power, but the Supreme Court of the 
United States did not hesitate to assert its power in this respect. 
The Supreme Court has been a prominent factor in interpreting the 
Constitution and in making constitutional history. Several of the 
chief-justices have gone down in history famous for their decisions 
ill construing the Constitution. To me there are few grander spec- 
tacles in history than Chief -Justice Marshall, great in mind, great 
in heart, great in opportunity, as he sat for thirty years guiding the 
ship of state into new and unexplored seas, and defining the limits 
and boundaries of the Constitution with wisdom akin to inspii*ation. 

The chief-justices of the United States and the dates of their 
appointments are as follows : John Jay, New York, September 26, 
1789, resigned; John Rutledge, South Carolina, July 1, 1795, 
appointed during a recess of Congress, and rejected by the Senate, 
December 10, 1795; Oliver Ellsworth, Connecticut, March 4, 179G, 
resigned; John Marshall, Virginia, January 31, 1801, died July G, 
1835; Koger B. Taney, Maryland, March 15, 183G, died 18G-4; Sal- 
mon P. Chase, Ohio, December G, 1864, died May 7, 1873; Morrison 
R. Waite, January 21, 1874, died March 23, 1888; I^Iclville W. 
Fuller, April 30, 1888. 



CHAPTER IX. 
CONGRESS. 

Second Continental Congress — Congress — Senate Vacancies — Qualifi- 
cations OF Senators — Vice-President — Impeachments — Duties : 
Legislative, Judicial, Executive — Expiration — Objects — Election 
— Quorum — Rules — Salary — The House — Members — Term — Qual- 
ifications — Members — Ratio — State — Congressional Districts — 
Election — Representatives-at-Large — Gerrymandering — Extra Ses- 
sions — Faults — Duties — Rules — Sessions — Speaker — Officers — 
Bills — Making of Laws — Committees — Composition. 

THE Second Continental Congress, which met at Philadelphia in 
May, 1775, was the beginning of the Legislative Department 
of the United States government. The colonies gained their inde- 
pendence under the direction of this Congress, which also controlled 
the states for nearly six years after the Eevolution. For various 
reasons this Congress, under the Articles of Confederation, was not 
able to govern the Confederacy, so a new government, under the 
authority of the Constitution, was instituted in 1789. 

Congress under the Constitution consists of two houses, — a Sen- 
ate and House of Representatives. The Senate is composed of two 
senators from each state, who are chosen by the legislature of their 
state for six years. Each senator has one vote, which he casts 
without regard to the opinion or vote of his colleague. Vacancies 
in the Senate are filled by appointments made by the governor of 
the state having the vacancy, and such appointees hold office until 
the legislature of the state shall meet. It then shall fill the vacancy. 

A senator must be at least thirty years old, a citizen of the 
nation at least nine years, and an inhabitant of the state by which 
chosen. An inhabitant is one who holds a home, so a man may be 
elected senator by a state as soon as his home is in that state, pro- 
viding he has the other qualifications. The Federal Convention 
first used the word " resident " instead of " inhabitant," but amended 
by using the latter term. One is a resident who simply resides, 
either temporarily or permanently, but one is an inhabitant of that 
state in which his home is situated. 
I 113 



114 INSTITUTIONAL HISTORY OF UNITED STATES. 

The Vice-President of the United States is president of the 
Senate. All other offices of that body are filled by the Senate, and 
a president pro tempore is elected by it when the Vice-President 
does not serve. The Vice-President has a casting vote in a tie, but 
the president pro tempore does not ; in many ways he does not have 
as much power as the Vice-President has. 

The Senate tries all impeachment. If the President of the 
United States is being tried, the chief-justice shall act as presi- 
dent of the Senate, since the Vice-President, by virtue of his office, 
is too much interested in the result to make an unprejudiced officer. 
It requires a two-thirds majority of members present to find the 
person impeached guilty, and if found guilty he is removed from 
office and may be disqualified from holding office ever afterwards. 
There have been seven impeachments, — William Blount, senator 
of Tennessee, 1798; John Pickering, District Judge of New Hamp- 
shire, 1803; Samuel Chase, Associate Justice of Supreme Court, 
1804; James H. Peck, District Judge of Missouri, 1830; West H. 
Humphries, District Judge of Tennessee, 1862; Andrew Johnson, 
President, 1868; W.W.Belknap, Secretary of War, 1876. Picker- 
ing and Humphries were found guilty, the former for drunkenness 
and the latter for joining the Rebellion. Pickering was removed 
from office, and Humphries was both removed and disqualified. 

The Senate's legislative duties are, chiefly, to concur with the 
House in passing bills. It may originate any bill except one for 
revenue. It also has judicial duties, as mentioned above, i.e. it 
must try all impeachments. Its third department of duty is execu- 
tive, i.e. it must ratify all treaties by a two-thirds majority of 
senators present; must consent to appointments of ambassadors, 
ministers, and consuls to foreign states; and must ratify the 
appointments of Federal judges and such other officers as are not 
otherwise provided for. In case a Vice-President is not elected 
by the people, it must elect one. Thus the Senate has threefold 
powers, — executive, judicial, and legislative. It is characterized as 
a conservative body, working slowly and according to custom. The 
terms of one-third of its members expire every two years, so that 
tliere is never a time when the body is without a majority of its old 
members. It is also arranged that no state shall have two vacancies 
at one and the same time. 

While the great fight of ratification was raging in all the states, 
Hamilton in the "Federalist Papers" declared that the Senate had 



CONGRESS. 115 

five objects: (1) To equalize states in representation in one branch; 
(2) to serve as a check and advisory body to the President on trea- 
ties and appointments ; (3) to restrain the lower house in passion 
and rashness; (4) to form a continuous, stable, and dignified body; 
(5) to establish a court to try impeachments. Some of these are 
not as valid now as they were once, and others have produced as 
much harm as good. The Senate of the present decade will not be 
known for these purposes, since it is being made too much an insti- 
tution in which the wealthy and the monopolies have their interests 
cared for to the detriment of the general good; but it has been a 
great body and must become so again. The popular theory now is 
that the members should be elected by the direct vote of the people. 
This would prevent great money influences. The Senate's parlia- 
mentary rules are simple and few. It boasts of needing few such, 
and it still follows Jefferson's Manual. 

A quorum in the Senate consists of a majority of the senators. 
If a quorum is present, the journal is first read, unless by unani- 
mous consent the reading is suspended. To secure a quorum, mem- 
bers may be compelled to attend a session by the sergeant-at-arms, 
when so ordered by the Senate. A senator must secure permission 
from the Senate before absenting himself. Committees are elected 
by ballot for two years, the chairman first and the other members 
next. It requires a majority vote to elect a chairman of a com- 
mittee, but a plurality vote only to elect the other members. The 
Senate may appoint its committees in any other way, if it desire. 
It follows the ballot system simply as a custom. 

When a senator secures the floor to speak, which he does by 
addressing the president and being recognized by him, he cannot be 
interrupted save by his consent. Speeches are not limited, except 
that one senator cannot speak more than twice in one day on the 
same question save by leave of the Senate. By this rule the Senate 
often becomes a "time-killer," and a stubborn minority may defeat 
the wishes of a very large majority. It may go into secret session 
on a motion made and seconded by senators. Every bill must be 
read three times on its passage. The reading must be on three 
separate days, unless otherwise directed. 

The salary of senators is $5000 per year, with 20 cents per mile 
as mileage, and $125 for stationery. The salary may be decreased 
or increased by Congress. It has been changed as follows : From 
1789 to 1795, $6 per day; from 1795 to 1815, $7 per day; from 



116 INSTITUTIONAL HISTORY OF UNITED STATES. 

1815 to 1817, $1500 per year; from 1817 to 1855, .f8 per day; 
from 1855 to 18G5, $3000 per year; from 18C5 to 1871, $5000 per 
year; from 1871 to 1874, $7500 per year; from 1874 to the present, 
1897, $5000 per year. The mileage was made 20 cents per mile iu 
1865. The salaries iu both houses are the same and have always 
been so, except from 1795 to 1815, when the salary of a representa- 
tive was not increased, as was the senator's. A senator is allowed 
a clerk, who is paid by the government; and a representative is 
given a sum ($1200) for clerk hire, though he may not employ such 
help. The clerk receives $1200 per year. 

The House of Representatives stands in direct contact with the 
people, the members being elected directly by them for two years. 
A representative must be at least twenty-five years old, and have 
been a citizen of the United States at least seven years, and an 
inhabitant of the state by which elected. The number of repre- 
sentatives is determined by Congress every ten years. The years 
1893, 1903, 1913, etc., are the years for fixing the number. 

After Congress has fixed on the number, the population of the 
entire country is divided by it, which gives the number of people 
that shall be represented by one representative. This is called the 
ratio of representation, and is now, 1897, 173,901. The number of 
representatives from 1893 to 1903, as fixed by Congress, is 356. 
To find the number of representatives to which each state is entitled, 
we divide the iiopulation of the state by the ratio of representation. 
Each state must have at least one representative, whetlier its popu- 
lation equals the ratio or not. If after these several divisions there 
is not yet the number of representatives decided on by Congress, by 
reason of many large remainders, the states having the largest re- 
mainders are given a representative each until the number is made 
up. These are called representatives-at-large. Each territory 
sends a representative, who can debate but cannot vote. If new 
states are admitted, they of course are allowed their quota of repre- 
sentatives, which would increase the number fixed by Congress. 
By the admission of Utah there are now 357 representatives. 

The state legislature divides the state into congressional dis- 
tricts, a district for each representative. This district, in conven- 
tion, nominates the candidates, and the voters of the district elect 
one of them for the House. A representative need not be of the 
district electing him. The representatives-at-large, if there be any, 
are elected by all the voters in the state. Much unfairness often 



CONGRESS. 117 

appears in districting a state. It is clone by the party in power, 
whicli often takes this means of perpetuating its rule, without 
regard to the wishes of the people. A state may be of one party, 
and yet elect a majority of its representatives of another party. 
Such districting is called "gerrymandering," from Elbridge Gerry, 
Vice-President from 1812 to 1816. He districted Massachusetts, 
in 1812, so abominably that one district looked like a lizard or 
dragon. He thus gave the Democrats the representatives, while 
the state was Federal. There is a " Shoe-string " district in Missis- 
sippi five hundred miles long and forty miles wide. Pennsylvania 
has one shaped like a dumb-bell; Missouri has one that winds 
around so much that it is longer than the state ; there is scarcely 
any state but has been wronged in this way by some party in power. 

Representatives are elected in the even years, but do not take 
their seats until the next, or odd year. This has some objection- 
able features, since it takes from November of one year until 
December of the next for the new Congress to come together, unless 
called in special session by the President, which is not often done, 
it having been done but eleven times to date, 1897. Presidents do 
not like extra sessions very well, and shun them when possible. 
Because of the long intervals between elections and taking office, 
laws cannot readily be made or repealed as the people may demand 
in the election of their representatives. It makes it necessary to 
rest under bad laws or no laws for about two years. It is thought, 
and planned so in European countries, that representatives should 
meet in from three to six months after their election. The United 
States sometimes has a Congress in session nearly half a year after 
it has been repudiated and denounced by the popular vote; and 
always there is the strange spectacle of a member leaving his duties 
at Washington to go home to work up his election, i.e. Congress is 
in session making laws while the people are deciding on who shall 
be returned or who shall not be. It would seem that there is no 
good reason for such a system, and many good ones against it. If 
the President did not have power to call special sessions, it would 
be a most harmful system. 

The duty of the House is almost purely legislative. It im- 
peaches Federal officers, and elects a President when no choice is 
made by the people. Outside of these infrequent occasions, its 
whole duty is to make laws by and with the consent of the Senate. 
It originates all revenue bills. This is because the members are 



118 INSTITUTIONAL HISTORY OF UNITED STATES. 

directly from the people, and should know what is best in the way 
of taxation. There is not the necessity for this now as once. It is 
an old Teutonic custom, and especially an English one, that the 
lower house should originate such bills, because a century ago that 
was the only elective house; the other was hereditary, and is the 
same yet in most countries, or has special qualifications. In the 
colonial governments it was very necessary that such bills should 
originate in the lower house, since in all the colonies except Mas- 
sachusetts, Connecticut, and Rhode Island the upper house was 
appointed either by the king or proprietor. 

The rules of the House are so numerous that no attempt will be 
made to give them here. They differ very much from the Senate's 
rules, and are difficult to learn. Many members never learu them. 
They form the basis for society work generally, being the highest 
authority on parliamentary rules in the United States. In the 
House a member can speak but once on the same question unless he 
is the mover of the question; then when all who wish have spoken, 
he may speak again. This is a rule subject to the will of the 
House, and is often broken. Speeches are limited to one hour, but 
may be extended by unanimous consent; in committee of the whole 
speeches are often limited to five minutes. This ruling presents 
quite a difference from that of the Senate, where a member speaks 
as long as he desires. The moving of the " previous question " is 
often used to close debates. A majority may at any time stop all 
speaking and bring a question to a vote. This cannot be done in 
the Senate, and for this reason it acts so much more slowly than the 
House. This slowness is called conservatism, but it is more often the 
political trickery of a minority to prevent legislation; for the Senate 
is as rapid as the House when it desires to be. A judicious use of 
the "previous question" would be an excellent rule in the Senate. 

Each Congress holds two sessions, — a long and short. There have 
been three sessions in each of fourteen Congresses, eleven of which 
met by special call of the President, — the First, Eifth, Eleventh, 
Thirteenth, Twenty-fifth, Twenty-seventh, Thirty-fourth, Thirty- 
seventh, Forty-fifth, Forty-sixth, and Fifty-third. In 1867 Con- 
gress passed a bill making it a law for each new Congress to meet at 
noon on the 4th of March of each year. This gave each Congress 
three sessions, under which law the Fortieth, Forty -first, and Forty- 
second Congresses met. The law was then repealed. All regular 
sessions begin on the first Monday in December. The short sessions 



CONGRESS. 119 

expire March 4 following, and the long sessions continue into the 
summer until Congress decides to adjourn. A great amount of work 
is presented to Congress, but not nearly all of it is done. From ten 
thousand to twelve thousand bills are usually presented in a session, 
but very few are ever heard from afterwards, or even reach a second 
reading, being killed in committee. 

The Speaker of the House is a very important personage. Much 
more power is given to him than to the president of the Senate. 
He is elected by the House, of which he must be a member. He is 
usually a leader in his party and a very able man. Of course he 
represents the party in power in the House. He is much of an 
autocrat, recognizes whom he pleases on the floor, decides all points 
not covered by rules, has much authority over the arrangement and 
presentatiou of bills, is a strong adviser for his party, and appoints 
committees. The last is his most important duty, and places in 
his hands great influence over legislation. The rule that allows the 
Speaker this poAver was adopted in 1790, and each house since has 
followed it, though it could be changed at any time by any session, 
if the majority should wish. The Speaker chooses the chairman of 
each committee, in which he can again greatly direct legislation. 
His salary is $8000 per year. 

Other officers of the House are a clerk, sergeant-at-arms, door- 
keeper, postmaster, and chaplain. They are elected by a viva voce 
vote of the House, and each appoints all sub-officers under him. 
The clerk presides until a speaker is elected, cares for the journal 
and bills, and pays the salaries due by the House to its own officers. 
The sergeant-at-arms preserves order, and pays the salaries and 
mileage to representatives. The other officers fill duties as their 
names suggest. A representative is not eligible to any of these 
positions. The Senate has the same kind of officers as the House, 
with the secretary and executive clerk added to the number. 

A bill in Congress must first pass the house in which it origi- 
nates, and must then be sent to the other house for passage or rejec- 
tion. If that house reject it, the bill is lost. But it may amend it; 
then the bill must go back to the house in which it originated, and 
be acted upon as if it were a new bill. If it fail of passage there, 
a compromise is often made by committees from both houses, by 
which they (the houses) agree to pass the bill in some form. 
When the bill passes both houses, it is sent to the President, who 
may sign or veto it. If he veto it, the bill may yet become a law 



120 INSTITUTIONAL HISTORY OF UNITED STATES. 

by a two-thirds majority of tlie members present in both houses of 
Congress. Or if the President keep the bill ten days, Sundays 
excepted, without signing it, it then becomes a law Avithout his 
signature. Tlius there are three ways in which a bill may become 
a law: (1) By Congress passing it and the President signing it; 
(2) by Congress passing it and the President keeping it ten days 
(Sundays excepted) without signing it; (3) by the President vetoing 
it and Congress passing it over his veto. The veto power has been 
sparingly used by all the Presidents except Mr. Cleveland, who 
vetoed nearly three hundred bills, most of them of minor impor- 
tance. Washington vetoed two bills; the Adamses and Jefferson, 
none; Madison, live; and Monroe, one. Tyler's veto was the first 
one Congress defeated. Povir bills were passed over Pierce's veto; 
and seventeen, over Johnson's. 

To facilitate matters in Congress, each house has standing com- 
mittees, whose duty it is to take up special work and bills, report 
on them, and advise Congress concerning them. While neither 
house is bound to follow the advice, yet it of course gives it much 
weight. Each house has from forty to sixty committees, the lower 
house having more than the Senate. Each committee contains 
from three to sixteen members. All proposed legislation is referred 
to one of these committees. In this way many bills are killed be- 
fore they are considered by either house. This facilitates matters 
very much, and makes the work of committees the most important 
part of legislation. The most important committees are the Ways 
and Means, Appropriation, Elections, Banking, Currency, Accounts, 
Naval Affairs, Military Affairs, Public Lands, Agriculture, and 
Claims. The name exj^lains the duties of each committee, except 
those of the Ways and Means, which is a committee having in 
charge the revenues and the bonded debt. 

The lawmaking body does not always consist of the best citizens, 
but it is always just what the people elect and therefore desire. It 
will never rise higher than the people. It represents the morals 
and sense of a country. A citizen of the United States, Avhere a 
man has the power to say who shall make the laws, should always 
censure himself for bad laws and corrupt lawmakers. The past 
shows a bright record in the legislation of the United States. The 
halls of Congress have, as a rule, held men of dignity and worth. 
Should it ever be different, the sliame and ignominy will be more 
the people's as voters, than the legislators' as lawmakers. 



CHAPTER X. 

EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT. 

President — Qualifications — Election — E lectors — Vacancy — Salary — 
Conventions — Nominations — Power and Duties — Cabinet — Secre- 
tary OF State — Secretary of Treasury — First Comptroller — Second 
Comptroller — Auditors — Treasurer and Register — Commissioner of 
Customs — Bureau of Currency — Bureau of Internal Revenue — Col- 
lectors OF Revenue — Bureau of Statistics — Mint — Bureau of En- 
graving and Printing — Coast Survey — Lighthouse Board — War 
Department and Officers — Military Academy — Pay of Officers — 
Navy Department and Bureau — Interior and Bureau — Pensions — 
Census — Agriculture — Post-office Department — Department of 
Justice. 

THE highest oflficer of the United States is the President, whose 
term of office is four years, but who is reeligible, and who must 
be a natural-born citizen at least thirty-five years old, and a resident 
of this country at least fourteen years. His duties are executive. 

The election of the President is by a college of electors. A state 
is allowed as many electors as it has representatives and senators in 
Congress. Each political party puts before the people for their choice 
its list of electors, who are in honor boiuid to vote for a candidate 
already named by the party in convention. In binding the electors 
to vote for a certain candidate, the people really name the President. 
There have been different modes of choosing the electors, as it is left 
to each state to arrange a plan for itself. In some states the state 
legislatures have chosen them. In others the people of the state by 
general ticket have selected the college, and in some states they 
have been elected in districts by ballot. The last was discarded 
because it divided a state's political strength, though Michigan used 
the system in 1892. South Carolina chose her electors by the legis- 
lature until 1868. All the states, except Michigan, as above stated, 
have nominated their electors by party conventions and have chosen 
them by popular vote since 1872. 

121 



122 INSTITUTIONAL HISTORY OF UNITED STATES. 

Since 1845 the electors have been chosen on the Tuesday next 
after the first Monday in November, and by act of 1887, they meet 
at the capitals of their several states the second Monday in January 
and vote for both President and Vice-President, making three reports 
of the result. One is sent by special messenger to the president of 
the Senate, one is sent to him by mail, and one is given to the judge 
of the district in which the electors meet. The president of the 
Senate opens the report before Congress on the second Wednesday in 
February and counts the votes. If no choice has been made, the 
House proceeds to elect a President by ballot, from the three candi- 
dates having the highest number of votes. A quorum for such work 
consists of a member or members from two-thirds of the states. 
Each state has one vote, and a majority vote of all the states elects. 
If there has been no choice of a Vice-President by the electors, the 
Senate proceeds to elect one from the two candidates having the 
highest number of electoral votes. Two-thirds of the whole number 
of senators make a quorum for this work and a majority vote of the 
whole number elects. 

The House has elected two Presidents, — Jefferson and J. Q. 
Adams. The Senate has chosen one Vice-President, — Richard M. 
Johnson, in 1836. In 1792 Congress provided that on the removal 
of both President and Vice-President or on a failure to elect them, 
the president pro tempore of the Senate shall act as President, or if 
no such officer exist or if he be not eligible, the Speaker of the House 
shall fill the place until an election is held to fill out the vacant term. 
This law was not satisfactory, though it holds good when there is no 
choice by the electors or by the House. In 188C Congress passed the 
Presidential Succession Bill, which provides for a vacancy in the 
Executive Department. On the removal of both President and Vice- 
President, the members of the cabinet succeed in the following order: 
the Secretary of State, Secretary of Treasury, Secretary of War, At- 
torney-General, Postmaster-General, Secretary of Navy, and Secre- 
tary of Interior. These officers would act only until a new President 
could be elected, which would be at the same time of the year as a 
regular election. If the Vice-President succeed the President, lie fills 
out the nnexi)ired term. No other officer in succession does unless 
the regular time of election falls within the year of vacancy. If the 
Vice-President be removed, no one takes that position by virtue of 
his office. The Senate elects a president pro tempore of the Senate, 
but he is never Vice-President of the United States. 



EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT. 123 

The salary of the President is $50,000 yearly, payable monthly. 
House, furniture, stables, official servants, and carriages with horses, 
etc., are furnished. The President pays for the food on his table 
and for private servants and carriages if he desires them. The gov- 
ernment furnishes all else. This, with his regular salary, makes 
his income from the office about f 75,000 per year. The salary of 
the Vice-President is $8000 annually. 

Candidates for President and Vice-President are nominated by 
party conventions which are entirely managed by the party itself. 
The delegates to a national convention are chosen in the states by 
district conventions, except that state conventions choose the dele- 
gates-at-large, or the number based on the senators. The number of 
delegates is based on the number of presidential electors a state has. 
Usually a number as large again as that of its electors is allowed a 
state for delegates, but it may be greater or less as the national 
political committee for the party shall decide. As a rule, the Re- 
publican party has two delegates for each elector, and the Democratic 
party has three. In the convention of the former a majority vote 
nominates ; in that of the lattei", a two-thirds vote generally chooses 
the candidate. But these riiles are subject to change any time. For 
each delegate there is an alternate selected at the same time and in the 
same way as the chief delegate. The alternate has no duties, except 
when the chief does not serve. The delegates to district and state con- 
ventions are chosen by party conventions in wards, townships, and 
counties. 

All the system of nominating a President is political and not 
legislative. It is not controlled by law. Each party controls its 
own affairs in that work regardless of the way another party acts. 
The nomination of presidential candidates by party conventions is a 
system of the people's. The Federal Convention meant for that to 
be done by the electors, who were both to nominate and elect the 
President. The people were to have nothing to do with either, and 
did not have in the first two elections ; but in the third, party spirit 
ran high, and since then parties have in some way nominated candi- 
dates for President. 

In the election of Washington no candidates were named for 
President either time. The electors were chosen by the people in 
popular elections and they chose the President and Vice-President. 
In 1796 Mr. Adams and Mr. Jefferson were so greatly the leaders of 
their parties that the popular feeling made them candidates without 



124 I>rSTTTUTIONAL HISTORY OF UNITED STATES. 

any convention, and it was the same in 1800. But in the election of 
1800 the Republican party (now Democratic party) were not agreed 
on a candidate for Vice-President. The Eepnblican members of 
Congress held a secret caucus and nominated Aaron Burr. From 
1804 to 1828 the representatives and senators of the respective par- 
ties in Congress chose the presidential candidates. But this was not 
satisfactory. It was taking all power in the executive out of the 
hands of the people, and they objected. In 1828 the legislature of 
Tennessee nominated Jackson, and other gatherings accepted him. 
J. Q. Adams was accepted as the opposing candidate Avithout any 
nomination. In 1831 and 1832 the Anti-j\Iasons and Whigs held 
national conventions, to which delegates were sent by most of the 
states. The conventions nominated candidates for President and 
Vice-President. These were the first national conventions for this 
purpose in the nation's history. A national convention of young 
men met in 1832, adopted the Whig candidates as their own, and 
formed ten resolutions, which became the Whig platform. This was 
the first party platform made by a nominating convention in the 
history of the United States. The Democrats nominated Jackson and 
Van Buren in the same way, in 1832 and 1836. The Whigs held no 
convention in the latter year. In 1840 the Democrats, Whigs, and 
Abolitionists all held national conventions, since which time the 
system has been in use by all parties. 

The different systems for nominating candidates have been as 
follows: 1789 to 1800, no nominations made; 1800 to 1824, nomina- 
tions made by congressional meetings; 1824 to 1840, nominations 
made by state legislatures and popular meetings; and from 1840 to 
the present, nominations made by national conventions. These first 
national conventions were more mass meetings than representative 
bodies. But now delegates are regularly appointed and bear creden- 
tials from the proper political authorities. 

A delegate is often instructed to vote for certain persons, and 
while he might disobey the instructions yet lionor would generally 
hold him to follow the same, as he is supposed to carry out the 
people's wishes rather than his own. Each state delegation has its 
chairman, who announces in the convention the vote of his state ; but 
the delegates may challenge his announcement, and then a poll is 
taken of the delegates. Of late the Republican party has had its 
delegates vote individually, but the Democratic party holds to the 
"unit rule," which forces a state to vote for one man only. It can- 



EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT. 125 

not divide its vote. Territories and the District of Columbia send 
delegates to conventions, but they are not allowed to vote. 

The national convention for nominating a presidential candi- 
date is held sometime during the summer preceding the election, 
and it proceeds to business according to the customary rules of such 
bodies. The chairman of the party's national committee calls the 
house to order, and a permanent chairman and such other officers 
and committees as are necessary are elected. When all is ready, the 
roll of states is called for nominations for President. After nomi- 
nations cease, balloting for candidates begins. The roll of states 
is called, and each state announces its vote, unless the nomina- 
tion is by acclamation, which seldom happens. It sometimes re- 
quires several days to nominate a candidate. Van Buren and Clay 
were nominated by acclamation. Grant was nominated on first 
ballot both times ; Blaine, on the fourth ballot; Cleveland, on the 
second; Garfield, on the thirty-sixth; and Scott, on the fifty- 
third. 

The power and duties of the President are as follows: he is 
commander-in-chief of the army and navy, and of the state militia 
when called into the service of the nation; has power to make 
treaties with consent of two-thirds of the Senate present; appoints 
ambassadors, consuls, supreme judges, and other Federal officers 
with the consent of the Senate; grants pardons and reprieves, 
except in impeachments; calls special sessions of Congress, and 
informs it of the foreign and domestic conditions ; receives foreign 
ambassadors; executes the law; commissions officers; and vetoes, 
signs, and retains bills of Congress. If the President veto a bill, 
he must send it back to the house originating it, with his objections. 
Congress may then pass it over his veto by a two-thirds vote of the 
members present. 

As an advisory branch of the Executive Department, we have the 
President's cabinet. This body is chosen by the President with the 
consent of the Senate. The cabinet officers are created by acts of 
Congress and are dependent on that body for existence, salary, 
duties, etc. The first administration had four cabinet officers, — 
Secretary of State, Secretary of Treasury, Secretary of War, and 
Attorney-General. The last had no department, but he was a mem- 
ber of the cabinet. The department over which he now presides 
was organized in 1870, and is called the Department of Justice. 
The Secretary of the Navy was made a cabinet officer in 1798; 



126 INSTITUTIONAL HISTORY OP UNITED STATES. 

Postmaster-General, in 1829; Secretary of Interior, in 1849; Secre- 
tary of Agriculture, in 1888. There are now eight departments. 

The Secretary of State is the most important cabinet officer. In 
1781 the Continental Congress established the Department of For- 
eign Affairs, and appointed R. R. Livingston secretary of the depart- 
ment. This department was the origin of the Department of State 
which was organized in 1789, under the name Executive Department, 
which name was soon changed to Department of State. The Secre- 
tary of State keeps all papers pertaining to treaties, laws, and corre- 
spondence with foreign powers ; affixes the seal of the United States 
to commissions signed by the President; conducts correspondence 
with foreign powers ; communicates with governors of states and ter- 
ritories ; and presents foreign ministers to the President. His salary 
has varied. It was $3500 in 1789; $5000 in 1799; $6000 in 1819; 
$8000 in 1853; $10,000 in 1873; and has been $8000 since 1874. 
An assistant secretary was given the department in 1853 ; a second, 
in 1866; and a third, in 1874. 

Robert Morris was our first Secretary of Treasury, appointed in 
1781. The dej^artment then was called Department of Finance, and 
the chief officer, Superintendent of Finance. The department as 
known to-day was organized in 1789, and the chief officer was called 
Secretary of Treasury. It is his duty to look after the expenses of 
the country after they have been provided for. His salary has always 
been the same as that of the Secretary of State, and he has two 
assistants. The Treasury Department has under its control several 
officers. They are the first comptroller, second comptroller, first 
auditor, second auditor, third auditor, fourth auditor, fifth audi- 
tor, sixth auditor, treasurer, register, commissioner of customs, 
comptroller of currency, commissioner of internal revenue, and the 
chiefs of the Bureau of Statistics, Mint, and Bureau of Engraving 
and Printing. 

The first comptroller was appointed in 1789. He examines 
the accounts of the first and fifth auditors; countersigns warrants 
drawn by the Secretary of Treasury; decides any appeal from the 
sixth auditor; and superintends the recovery of debts for the United 
States. The second comptroller examines the accounts of the sec- 
ond, third, and fourth auditors, and countersigns Avarrants drawn 
by the Secretaries of War and Navy. The office was organized in 
1817. The first auditor was appointed in 1789. Four more were 
added in 1817, and in 1836 a sixth was named. The auditors have 



EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT. 127 

charge of accounts: the first, of civil officers; second, of the pay 
of the army; third, of the subsistence of the army; fourth, of the 
navy; fifth, of the Department of State, census, and internal reve- 
nue ; sixth, of the Post-office Department. 

The treasurer and register were first appointed in 1789. The 
former keeps all the money of the nation, and pays it out on the 
order of the Secretary of Treasury; the latter keeps and registers 
accounts, and both must sign the bonds and notes the government 
issues. The commissioner of customs was appointed in 1849. It 
is his duty to oversee the collecting of tariff and internal revenues. 
The Bureau of Currency was organized in 1863 and is directed by 
the comptroller of currency, who has the national banks in charge. 
The Bureau of Internal Revenue was established in 1862. The 
name suggests the purpose. Collectors of revenue are appointed in 
each revenue district. The Bureau of Statistics, whose chief is called 
director, was organized in 1866. The director makes annual reports 
on commerce and navigation, and prepares and has published monthly 
reports of numerous statistics. The Mint, provided for in 1791, 
was made a Bureau of the Treasury in 1873. The Bureau of 
Engraving and Printing was established in 1874. It prints revenue 
stamps, bank and other notes, and bonds and securities of the gov- 
ernment. The Coast Survey is connected with the Treasury Depart- 
ment. It surveys and makes charts of the coast. The surveys of 
the Great Lakes are made by the War Department. The Light- 
house Board was organized in 1852. Appointments to these sub- 
offices are in the hands of the President. 

The War Department, as it is now known, was created in 1789. 
It was a part of the Continental government, however. Benjamin 
Lincoln was its first officer, appointed in 1781. The salary was 
made |3000 in 1789, and $4500 in 1799. Since 1819 it has been 
the same as that of the Secretary of State. Officers under the 
Secretary of War are adjutant-general, quartermaster-general, com- 
missary-general, paymaster-general, surgeon-general, chief of engi- 
neers, and the chiefs of the Ordnance Office, Signal Office, and 
Bureau of Military Justice. The War Department has charge of 
the Military Academy which was organized in 1802, at West Point, 
New York. It contained but ten cadets yearly until 1812, when the 
number was increased to two hundred and fifty. At present there 
is a cadet for each congressional district, one from eacli territory, 
and ten at large. To enter the Institute one must be of sound body, 



128 INSTITUTIONAL HISTORY OF UNITED STATES. 

fair education, and of an age not less than seventeen nor more than 
twenty-two. He must be appointed by the President on the recom- 
mendation of the Secretary of War. The ten cadets at large are 
appointed by the President without any recommendation. To 
simplify matters the national representatives are each allowed to 
recommend a person from their districts, whom the President 
appoints. Tlie representative may, if he desire, hold a competitive 
examination in his district, to decide whom he shall recommend. 
The cadets, with the consent of the parents or guardians, must 
pledge themselves to serve in the army eight years unless dis- 
charged, and they must pass an entrance examination on the com- 
mon branches and algebra. The course-of study, which is four years 
long, consists chiefly of mathematics, history, geography, and the 
modern languages. The discipline is military and, of course, rigid, 
but it is an excellent training for a young man. The cadet receives 
$5-40 per year during his school course and is commissioned second 
lieutenant when he graduates. 

The pay of officers of the army is regulated by Congress. The 
major-general receives $7500 yearly; brigadier-general, $5500; 
colonel, $3500; lieutenant-colonel, $3000; major, $2500; captain, 
mounted, $2000; captain, not mounted, $1800; adjutant, $1800; 
quartermaster, $1800 ; first lieutenant, mounted, $1500 ; not 
mounted, $1400; chaplain, $1500. Every commissioned officer 
below brigadier-general has his pay increased 10 per cent, for 
every five years' service, though the increase cannot exceed 40 
per cent. Officers retired from service receive 75 per cent, of 
their regular pay. All officers are retired at sixty-four years of 
age. The pay of privates is $13 per mouth, with a dollar per 
month added for the third year's service, one for fourth year, and 
one for fifth. After serving thirty years a private is retired on 
three-fourths pay. 

The Navy Department was established in 1798, until wliich time 
the duties had been a part of the War Department. The Secretary 
of Xavy is the chief officer. His salary has always been tlie same 
as that of the Secretary of War. There are eight bureaus to this 
department, the chiefs of which are appoiuted by tlie President. 
The Bureaus are as follows, and the name will suggest the duty: 
Yards and Docks, Equipment and Recruiting, Navigation, Ordnance, 
Medicine and Surgery, Provisions and Clothing, Steain-engineering, 
Construction and Repair. 



EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT. 129 

The Naval Academy at Annapolis is a part of this department. 
It originated and had its growth under the Navy Department with- 
out an act of Congress. George Bancroft, the historian, was the 
chief promoter of the school. He was Secretary of the Navy in 
1846, when Congress first made appropriations to the Academy. A 
person must be between fourteen and eighteen years old to enter the 
institution. There is a cadet for each representative district, and 
each territory, one for the District of Columbia, and ten at large. 
The last eleven are appointed by the President, and the others by 
the Secretary of the Navy on the recommendation of the repre- 
sentatives. The course of study covers six years, four in school and 
two on the sea. Five hundred dollars annually are paid to the 
cadets for expenses. On graduation they are made midshipmen, 
and are promoted as vacancies occur. 

The Department of the Interior was established by act of Congress 
in 1849. Its duties have come to it from the other departments. 
The Patent Office and Census Office were given to it from the Depart- 
ment of State ; the Land Office and Mines, from the Treasury ; Indian 
Affairs, from the Departments of War and Navy ; and the care of 
Public Buildings, from the Executive Department. The Bureau of 
Education belongs to the department also. An assistant secretary 
was given the department in 1862. The Patent Office is under the 
charge of a commissioner, who has an assistant. The commissioner 
receives $4500 annually, and his assistant, $3000. The salary of 
the Secretary of Interior is f 8000 yearly. 

The Pension Office was created in 1835 for two years, and was 
extended from time to time until 1849, when it was made a perma- 
nent part of the Department of the Interior. The Land Office was 
organized in 1812, and was made a part of the Interior when that 
office was created. The Census Office is in charge of the superin- 
tendent of the census. It is not a permanent office, since the census 
is taken but once in ten years. The Secretary of Interior has charge 
of the prisons in all territories, and he has also all the powers and 
duties pertaining to the territories, that belonged to the State Depart- 
ment before 1872. 

The Department of Agriculture was organized in 1872. In 1888 
the chief was made a cabinet office. The name of the department 
suggests its duties. The Secretary receives the same salary as the 
other cabinet officers. 

The Post-office Department was first organized in 1692, It was 



130 INSTITUTIONAL HISTORY OF UNITED STATES. 

under the care of the Crown until the lievolution. Benjamin Frank- 
lin was the most successful superintendent of the office in that 
period. lie was appointed by the Crown in 1754, and held the 
place until 1774, Avlien he was removed for rebellious sentiments. 
The Second Continental Congress reappointed him in 1775. He 
was our first Postmaster-General. The department was made a 
cabinet office in 1829. The salary of the Postmaster-General has 
varied. In 1792 it was made $2000; in 1799, |3000; in 1819, 
$4000; in 1827, $6000; in 1853, $8000; in 1873, $10,000; in 1874, 
$8000. There are four assistant postmaster-generals, appointed 
by the President and Senate. The first assistant has general 
charge of post-offices, postmasters, general correspondence, free 
delivery, money order offices, and the dead letter office. The second 
assistant sees to the carrying of mail, time of arrival, departure, 
distribution, etc. The third assistant has charge of the finances 
of the department, provides stamps, and receives the returns of 
post-offices. The fourth assistant establishes post-offices, appoints 
postmasters, except those for presidential post-offices, and supervises 
inspectors. 

The Department of Justice, as said above, was established in 1870, 
and the Attorney-General was made its chief officer. He must 
prosecute and conduct all claims and suits in the Supreme Court, in 
which the United States is a party. He is also an advisory officer 
for the President and the other cabinet officers. In 1861 his duties 
were increased by placing in his charge the attorneys and marshals 
of judicial districts. An assistant was appointed in 1859. In 1868, 
a second Avas added; in 1871, a third; and later a fourth, fifth, and 
sixth were given the department. The salary of the Attorney- 
General was $1500 until 1850, when it was made the same as that 
of the other members of the cabinet. 

The Department of Justice must not be confused with the Judi- 
cial Department. They are very different. The latter is one of the 
three divisions of the government, while the former is only a depart- 
ment of a division, the executive branch. 

Besides the officers named above there are a great many clerks 
in the different departments at Washington. They are divided into 
classes known as first, second, third, and fourth. The first class 
receive $1200 per year; the second, $1400; the third, $1600; the 
fourth, $1800. Female clerks and copyists receive $900 yearly, 
and messengers, $840. Lower officers receive $720. 



EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT. 131 

An enormous amount of labor and duty belong to the Executive 
Department. It becomes quite complicated in all its divisions. As 
a rule, the officers are a dignified and able body of men. Our Presi- 
dents have been able and honest officers. They have not always 
been our ablest men, but the country has seldom been disappointed 
in its chief officer. An office which can name as occupants Wash- 
ington, Jefferson, Madison, Lincoln, Grant, and Garfield is one that 
may not only be great in its duties and positions, but great, also, in 
its men. Our best statesmen have filled cabinet offices. Hamilton, 
Adams, Jefferson, Madison, Clay, Webster, and Blaine, the most 
brilliant characters of our continent, and the equal of the world's 
great men, have honored that department of government. 



CHAPTER XL 

ELECTIONS. 

Qualification for Voting — Holding Office — Increasing the Rights — 
Ohio — Women — Present Qualifications — Calling Elections — Nomi- 
nations — Proxy Voting — Systems op Voting at the Present. 

VIKGINIA holds an enviable place among governments. She was 
the first state in the world to declare that taxpayers shonld have 
the right of suffrage, even though the tax were only a jioll. During 
her Colonial Period all white taxpayers residing in the colony voted, 
and non-resident whites voted if they owned real estate within her 
boundaries. 

Qualifications for voting varied among the colonies. In all, the 
age of beginning manhood Avas twenty-one; and residence was 
necessary in all, except in A^irginia, as given above, and in S(nith 
Carolina, which also permitted non-residents who owned property 
within the colony to vote, but required all voters to be white Prot- 
estants, and to own at least fifty acres of land or thirty pounds. 
Church-members who owned real estate that yielded an income of 
not less than three pounds, or possessed property valued at sixty 
pounds or more, could vote in Massachusetts. No color line Avas 
drawn in that colony, as also there was not in any except Georgia, 
South Carolina, and Virginia. In the first of these, any white 
owning property, or Avith a trade, voted. All Christian taxpayers 
Avere A'oters in Pennsylvania, and all Protestant property-holders 
were, in Ncav Hampshire. North Carolina required her electors 
to have at least fifty acres of land or thirty pounds. Maryland 
had the same qualifications for hers, and Delaware made hers be 
property-holders who believed in the Trinity and the Bible. Rhode 
Island asked that men be property-holders to be suffragists, and 
Connecticut required an income of $7 or more, or an estate worth 
at least $134. A voter in New York had to show his tax receipt 
for at least forty shillings, or had to oavu at least twenty pounds, 

132 



ELECTIONS. 133 

and had to have his name on the tax list. New Jersey, by an over- 
sight, gave universal suffrage at first, but later limited it to males 
owning an estate worth at least fifty pounds. 

All the colonies had property qualifications for holding ofiice, 
and most of them some religious standard also. The governors 
of New Jersey, New Hampshire, Connecticut, and Vermont had 
to be Protestants. New York, Delaware, and Maryland did not 
allow a priest or a minister to hold any office, and Georgia 
excluded the same class from a seat in the Assembly. Massa- 
chusetts and Maryland required their officers to be Christians ; 
and South Carolina, North Carolina, and Georgia, that they be 
Protestants. Pennsylvania's officers were believers in God and 
the Bible ; Delaware's, in God and Christ ; and Rhode Island's, 
New York's, New Jersey's, and Virginia's, in God. Massachusetts, 
Pennsylvania, Delaware, and Maryland demanded their officers to 
be Christians. 

Thus were voting and office-holding restricted at the close of 
the Revolution and even until 1800. But leaven was working, and 
the future brought a change. The religious qualifications went 
first, and the Ordinance of 1787 made no qualification necessary 
in the Northwest Territory for governors, judges, secretaries, and 
voters, except age, residence, and ownership of land in the territory. 
The Constitution followed next and seemed to step backwards, since 
voting for Federal officers was limited as the different states limited 
their own voters. However, in ten years after Washington's admin- 
istration, eight states widened their suffrage qualifications. Penn- 
sylvania threw away her religious test ; South Carolina opened the 
polls to Catholics ; and New Hampshire did away with her religious 
qualifications, abolished her poll-tax qualification, and allowed every 
male inhabitant twenty-one years old or more to vote. Delaware 
abolished belief in a Trinity and the Bible as a qualification for 
voting. Kentucky and Vermont recognized manhood suffrage, the 
first states to do so in the history of the Avorld. Kentucky allowed 
any free white man to vote ; and Vermont allowed any man, black 
or white, twenty-one years old, and a resident for tAvo years, to 
exercise the right of suffrage. Georgia did away with her religious 
qualifications for holding office, and her property qualifications for 
voting. Between Washington's inauguration and his death many 
political limitations of man Avere effaced from the laws. Democratic 
principles seemed to have completely conquered. 



134 INSTITUTIONAL HISTORY OF UNITED STATES. 

When Ohio knocked at the door of the Union for admission, she 
presented a constitution formed under the new principles. In other 
states, up to this time, old abuses needed reforming. Ohio, freed of 
these abuses, could set up a government wholly of new ideas, the 
first state in the Union to have that privilege. The Thirteen Origi- 
nal States, and the three new ones, had had to work out the new 
from the old. But when Ohio was ready to join the sisterhood, this 
had been done. It marks a beginning of an era in government in 
the New World, and shows the difference between the old and new 
in government. 

The Ohio constitution contained the principles of the older ones, 
but incorporated new ideas. The governor was stripped of all i)0\ver 
and patronage. He could make no nominations, had no veto, signed 
no bills, had no share in legislation, and had no appointments save 
that of the adjutant-general, or when there was a vacancy during a 
recess of the legislature. The House and Senate in joint sessions 
filled civil offices and elected judges to serve for seven years. Dela- 
ware, South Carolina, and Tennessee gave no veto power to their 
governors. Rhode Island, North Carolina, and Tennessee did not 
allow theirs to appoint any officers. Connecticut, Rhode Island, Ver- 
mont, New Jersey, and Georgia appointed judges for shorter terms 
than life. But Ohio's was the first constitution in the history of 
the world that joined the three in one. 

After this reform by the constitution of Ohio, the movement 
towards complete and universal male suffrage, based on age and 
residence, was gradual. Before the new republic was much more 
than half a century old, manhood was the only qualification required 
of the voter in general elections. Church and State were finally 
separatetl, and all men were equal in their political rights. 

America broke the religious and political chains which fettered 
human kind. When she includes the other half of humanity in her 
political rights, she will have completed the victory now but half 
won. This is being done rapidly. Women have voted on an equal- 
ity with men in Wyoming, since 1870. Kansas allows full munici- 
pal suffrage to women. Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Massachusetts, 
Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, 
New York, Oregon, Vermont, Wisconsin, Delaware, Illinois, North 
Dakota, South Dakota, Texas, Washington, Montana, Oklahoma, 
and Arizona give equal suffrage in school elections under certain 
conditions as to property, marriage, etc. Women vote on the sale 



ELECTIONS. 135 

of liquor in Arkansas and Missouri. Utah, Idaho, and Colorado 
allow equal suffrage. 

States regulate the qualifications of voters within their own 
limits, so there are various standards for voting. Citizenship is 
based on a residence in a state of from three months to two years. 
Eighteen states allow only citizens to vote ; fifteen allow citizens 
and aliens who have declared their intention to become citizens; 
Connecticut requires citizenship, good moral character, and the ability 
to read the Constitution or statutes ; Delaware requires the paying 
of a county tax after the age of twenty -two; New York requires 
citizenship for ten days previous to the election ; Pennsylvania, citi- 
zenship of United States for one month and payment of a tax, if 
twenty -two years old or more ; Rhode Island, foreigners must hold 
property worth $137, or pay $7 rent a year. 

The American colonies originated, for the English people, the 
secret ballot, for election of representatives. Most of the colonies 
voted in that way. Royal colonies were not so given to that system 
as Proprietary and Charter colonies were. 

The colonies had two well-defined methods for calling elections : 
one was the constitutional provision which fixed days for an election, 
generally in the spring ; the other was by order of the king, who was 
not limited in any way except that he could not extend the time over 
a certain period ranging from two to seven years. One or two of 
the colonies combined the two systems, i.e. they fixed a day by law 
and also issued writs. Plymouth held elections on January 1 until 
1636. From then until 1658 the first Tuesday in March was fixed 
as the day, which was then changed to the first Tuesday in June. 
From 1691 the last Wednesday in June was provided as the day. 
Massachusetts held her election generally on the second Wednesday 
in May ; and Connecticut, on the last Wednesday in May. South 
Carolina set aside the first Tuesday in September of each alternate 
year, and if a change were to be made, a writ had to be issued thirty 
days before election. North Carolina elected on the first Tuesday 
in September. So most colonies had their days for elections set 
aside, which were subject to change, especially in the royal prov- 
inces. Certain hours were fixed for elections. They began usually 
at nine o'clock, sometimes at eight, and a few were held between cer- 
tain hours. The polls were closed sometimes as early as two o'clock 
if the votes were all in. 

Outside of New England the sheriff was generally the chief 



136 INSTITUTIONAL HISTORY OF UNITED STATES. 

officer at elections, acting as the presiding and returning officer. 
The provost-marshal Avas manager in Georgia ; the churchwardens, 
in South Carolina; the mayor, recorder, and alderman, in Maryland; 
and the coroner, in Pennsylvania, Delaware, and North Carolina, if 
the sheriff could not act. 

The nomination of candidates was not by parties, as parties did 
not exist. But preliminary elections were often held to reduce the 
number of candidates. There was another system used in Connecti- 
cut a short time. Each freeman handed to the proper committee 
twenty names of persons whom he considered to be qualified for 
the office. Then all were counted and the twenty receiving the 
highest coimt stood as candidates. Generally, however, in a pre- 
liminary election each voter was allowed to hand in twenty names, 
and the twenty -six names receiving the most votes were the candi- 
dates. In New Jersey the people placed a list of eligible names 
in a box, and a boy drew out fifty. These fifty were put back and 
twenty-tive drawn out, and the twenty-five remaining in the box 
were the nominated candidates before the general election. 

New England used mostly the proxy system of voting, which 
originated in Massachusetts. There was but one place to vote in a 
general election, and that was at the capital of the colony. As settle- 
ments spread, it became very troublesome to go there every year to 
vote, and in times of danger from Indians, all freemen could not leave 
home. Such were allowed to vote by proxy, i.e. send their votes 
to the capital by some friend. Connecticut and Rhode Island tried 
another system in 1641, which included both the proxy and repre- 
sentative principles. The freemen of each town elected a deputy 
for every ten voters. These deputies went to the capital and voted 
for their towns. While the proxy system was not liked, yet, after 
repeated attempts to change it, the peojjle of New England always 
fell back to that plan. South Carolina followed the same for a while, 
but the authorities forbade it in 1G83, and declared that every man 
must deliver his own vote. 

At first the general plan of taking the vote in New England 
was by the raising of hands and counting them, but after 1634 
the names of candidates were written on paper. In 1643 white and 
black beans were used for voting; the former meaning yes, the 
latter, no. Finally the secret ballot became the universal method 
in New England. 

In the royal provinces the ballot Avas never known. England 



ELECTIONS. 137 

herself did not use the ballot until 1872. She used the " show of 
hands " or " viva voce " vote. The sheriff decided on the election 
by viewing the hands or from the voices. Sometimes a poll was 
taken if the candidates were not satisfied with the sheriff's " view." 
These systems extended to the royal provinces in America. In 
Virginia, in early times, the sheriff went from house to house and 
took the votes. The House of Burgesses passed a law in 1G39 that no 
freeman Avas to be made to go off his plantation to cast his ballot. 
The sheriff was to bring around a paper, or a proxy was to be sent. 
The poll was often used in A^'irginia. The clerk kept a book with 
the names of candidates written in it, and under the name of each 
candidate he wrote the names of persons voting for him. Penn- 
sylvania, Delaware, New Jersey, North and South Carolina, and 
Georgia combined the ballot and poll system. They polled the free- 
men, and then on voting each voter presented a ballot. If the 
voter could not read, the poll clerk opened the ballot and read the 
names to him, and asked him if they were the ones for whom he 
wished to vote. If so, the ballot was accepted. North Carolina 
adopted the secret ballot in 1744, practically the system of voting 
we have to-day. 

Because of the alarming amount of corruption at the polls, in 
buying and selling votes, and in coercing voters, as well as by 
making false returns, the states are now adopting new systems of 
voting, the most popular of which is the Australian system. The 
voter goes into a booth by himself and arranges his ballot by 
stamping the square at the head of his ticket if he wishes to vote a 
"straight" ticket; but if he desires to vote a "mixed" ticket, he 
must stamp the square at the end of the name of each candidate 
for whom he votes. The voter then folds his ticket so as to show 
the initials of the clerk, and hands it to the proper officer, who 
places it in the ballot box. All this being done secretly, it is 
supposed that it prevents the buying of votes ; that a man so lost 
to honor and to patriotism as to sell his vote would also be dis- 
honest enough to refuse to vote the ticket that had bought him. 
Both suppositions are false, as has been demonstrated. Corruption 
still prevails at the polls in too great a degree. Many states are 
adopting machines for voting, which, it is thought, will prevent 
frauds. It is sincerely to be hoped that some way will be dis- 
covered to make our elections fair, but it will l)e hard, I fear, to 
invent a " machine " that will make men be honest. It is to be 



138 INSTITUTIONAL HISTORY OF UNITED STATES. 

regretted that we possess a vote that can be bought, and that we 
have men who will buy it. A man who sells his vote has no right 
to the franchise, and a man who buys is as dishonest and unpatriotic 
as the man who sells, and should lose his right to full citizenship 
also. The pages of history tell, over and over, how countries fall 
when their people lose honor and patriotism, !My fellow-citizen, 
America's fair land will be no exception imless we check these 
things. You, reader, and I are responsible. Every vote sold 
hastens our end because it degrades our manhood, and every vote 
coerced or bought quickens our destiny because national honor and 
justice are outraged. That we could fully realize that it is manhood 
that makes a nation great and gives it long life ! 



CHAPTER XII. 

TARIFF AND REVENUES. 

Raising Revenues — Theories — Colonial Pursuits — Tariff Law of 1789 

— Condition from 1808 to 1815 — Bill of 1816 — 1819-23 — South's 
Change — Bill of 1828 — Bill of 1830 — 1832-1833 — 1842-1810 — 
1857 — 1861 — 1862 — 1864 — By 1865 — 1 867 — 1870 — 1875 — 1879 — 1883 

— Mills Bill — McKinley Bill — Wilson Bill — Internal Taxes — 
Virginia — Maryland — North Carolina — South Carolina — Georgia 

— Pennsylvania and Delaware — Neav Jersey — New York — New 
England — Revolutionary Period — National Debt — Hamilton's 
Place — Funding the Debt — Payment — 1794 — 1797 — 1802 — 1813 — 
Amount — Civil War — Present — Direct Tax — Income Tax — Amount 
collected — National Debt — 1895 — 1896. 

THE nation raises its revenues mostly by indirect taxes, such as 
internal taxation, and import duties or tariff. Public lands, 
patent fees, and postal receipts have always been fruitful sources of 
revenue. Twice in its history the government has levied a direct 
tax ; and twice, an income tax. International taxes are laid usually 
on manufactured goods, such as spirits, tobacco, etc. 

There are three theories in regard to international trade, — the 
protective, the revenue, and the free trade. Advocates of protection 
hold that it is the duty of a nation to assist not only a business that 
may have natural advantages, but to foster and protect others also, 
that can be made profitable by keeping foreign manufacturers from 
competing with the home trade. This is done by taxing the 
foreigner's goods. Protection, it is claimed, gives a people varied 
industries, better prices for labor, and in the end saves money for 
them. 

Revenue advocates believe that it is the duty of a government 
to place such a tariff on goods as will allow them to be imported, and 
thus secure enough money to meet its expenses ; but that it should 
not place a tariff higher than that rate, because to do so is to foster 
high prices and disturb natural conditions. 

139 



140 INSTITUTIONAL HISTORY OF UNITED STATES. 

Free trade ■would place no restrictions of any nature on trade. 
It means absolute freedom of trade among nations as it exists among 
the different states of the United States. Each country would pro- 
duce the thing it could best make, and "would let alone such interests 
as are foreign to its climate, soil, or other natural resources. 

The colonies carried on agricultural pursuits mainly. Of course 
the artisan existed, since the people must have the ])lacksmith, 
carpenter, mason, etc. ; but these lived largely through the interests 
of the farming class. Ship-building was carried on in New England, 
which furnished natural advantages and much necessity for such 
an occupation. 

The colonists manufactured nothing they could import. For 
imported goods they traded the produce of their farms. Conditions 
remained so until after the Revolution. Agriculture, commerce, and 
the necessary mechanical arts were the pursuits of the people until 
1808. Then foreign trade presented better opportunities than before, 
and the United States took advantage of them. 

The French wars offered a fine foreign market for the American 
farmer's produce, and increased the use of American ships. Farming 
and commerce being so profitable, manufactures did not increase 
rapidly, so that the tariff did not become an important issue until 
1816. It was changed by nearly every Congress before that time, 
but on account of conditions abroad rather than at home, and to 
secure a revenue for the government. It did not become a very 
strong party question. The first tariff law, 1789, is a fair sample 
of all the laws made concerning tariff for the first twenty -five years 
of the nation's life. It placed an ad valorem duty, which averaged 
5 per cent, on most imported articles. The rate was higher on 
luxuries. Carriages were taxed 15 per cent., and hemp, cordage, 
nails, iron, and glass were slightly protected. 

There existed a very unnatural state of affairs in the world from 
1808 to 1815. The Berlin and Milan Decrees, the Orders in Council, 
the Embargo Act, and the Non-Intercourse Act, with the War of 1812, 
all caused a most abnormal condition, which had to be met by means 
as abnormal. Trade practically ceased part of the time, and manu- 
factures started up like mushrooms. The iron, glass, woolen, cotton, 
and pottery industries had their birth then ; and a belief in protec- 
tion began to form. The heavy war debt also made it necessary to 
raise a large revenue. Thus it was that, in 1816, the tariff came 
more prominently before the lawmakers than ever before. But there 



TARIFF AND REVENUES. 141 

was a feeling that the existing conditions would not be permanent, 
and that Congress should provide only a temporary law. The bill 
of 1816 raised the tariff to an average of 20 per cent., and provided 
for it to be decreased on many things in 1819. 

Before that time changes had come in the industrial conditions of 
Europe. Good crops were raised, and the English Corn Laws were 
passed in 1816. These made it necessary to rearrange internal 
affairs in the United States, and brought about a four years' crisis, 
out of which developed the American system of protection for home 
manufactures. Congress tried to pass bills in 1820, 1821, and 1822, 
but failed to secure a majority in favor of them; but in 1824 a pro- 
tective duty was placed on iron, lead, wool, and hemp. The South 
opposed the bill, and New England was divided on it, while the Mid- 
dle and Western states supported it. The Senate defeated a tariff 
bill in 1827 ; and in 1828, the famous '' Bill of Abominations " brought 
on the first intensely bitter fight over the tariff rate. 

The Middle and Western states were the stronghold of high 
tariff, since New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Ken- 
tucky were great agricultural states and had suffered most in the panic 
of 1819-23. They believed that protection would restore their former 
prosperity by giving them a home market. Wool, hemp, flax, wheat, 
corn, rum, molasses, and iron were the articles they were most anx- 
ious to have protected. There had been a long fight in New Eng- 
land between manufacturers and merchants, which was won by the 
former for protection. The South was greatly in favor of a high 
tariff in 1816, but in 1828 it bitterly opposed it. The Missouri 
Compromise probably influenced the stand the South took on the 
tariff after 1820. Slavery and free trade became allied then, and 
never separated until the death of the former. With slavery they 
could not have manufactures. Their goods, then, had to come from 
either New England or England. If from New England, protection 
would make them higher and would also cause England to retaliate. 

Until 1828 the tariff question had been sectional rather than po- 
litical, but then it entered politics. The Adams men, or Whigs, 
supported protection, and the Jackson men, or Democrats, generally 
opposed it. It was proposed to defeat the bill of 1828 by a little 
Congressional "log-rolling." The bill placed heavy duties on raw 
materials, and thus was popular in the Middle and Western states, 
but it Avas very unpopular in New England. All the Jackson men, 
North and South, were to unite to defeat any proposed amendment ; 



142 INSTITUTIONAL HISTORY OF UNITED STATES. 

and when voting time came, the members from the South were to 
vote against the measure, although it was proposed by them. They, 
with New England, would kill it, and there would be no tariff 
legislation. 

To the surprise of its authors, the bill passed essentially un- 
changed. Duties were changed as follows : pig-iron from 56 to 62|- 
cents per hundred ; bar-iron, from 90 to 112 cents ; and rolled-bar, 
from f 30 to f 37 per ton. Hemp was raised from f 35 to $15 per 
ton immediately, and was to be raised $5 annually until it reached 
f60. Flax was raised to $60 per ton. Wool, on which was the 
great fight, was assessed 4 cents per pound with 40 per cent, ad 
valorem in 1828, 45 per cent, in 1829, and 50 per cent, afterwards. 
In 1830 there was a change made, but that of 1832 was the greater 
one. Hemp was lowered to $40; flax was put on the free list; and 
pig-iron and bar-iron were put back to the 1824 rates. But still the 
duty was not satisfactory, and the trouble with South Carolina arose, 
which was settled by the act of 1833, providing for a constant reduc- 
tion in the tariff for ten years. 

This reduction was as follows : all duties in excess of 20 per cent, 
were to have one-tenth of the excess removed January 1, 1834 ; one- 
tenth more, January 1, 1836 ; one-tenth more, January 1, 1838 ; and 
one-tenth more, January 1, 1840. This would take off four-tenths 
of the excess by 1840. On January 1, 1842, one half the remaining 
excess was to be removed ; and on July 1, 1842, the other half was 
to be taken off. After this there should be an average rate of 20 per 
cent. The compromise went into effect, and was followed out as 
planned until 1842, when another protective measure was passed. 
This ended the great fight that began in 1819, and so nearly dis- 
membered the Union. 

The period from 1819 to 1842 was one of transition in the country's 
industrial condition. From agricultural and commercial it became 
more manufactural. It was natural that agitation should attend this 
change. The economic forces became more varied and then became 
settled in their tendency, so that the tariff legislation, from 1819 to 
1832, was from motives quite different from those that brought on 
legislation for a time after 1832. In the former period, foreign 
conditions brought on most of the legislation ; while in the latter, 
domestic affairs and politics were responsible for it. 

The bill of 1842 was a Whig measure, and was protective. Cal- 
houn said of it, " It was passed to give contention to the politicians 



TARIFF AND REVENUES. 143 

and not to help the people." On account of the quarrel between 
Tyler and Congress, it was neither carefully nor wisely made. In 
1846 the Democrats passed a measure moderating the protective 
principle. Articles were scheduled A, B, C, D, E, etc., and each 
schedule paid a certain rate. All in A paid 100 per cent. ; B, 40 
per cent. ; C, 30 per cent. ; D, 25 per cent. ; etc. Metals, wool, 
woolens, etc., were classed in C ; and these were the articles of 
greatest controversy. Cottons were in D, and tea and coffee were 
exempted. This bill remained in force practically until 1857, when 
another reduction Avas made, which gave us almost free trade. Be- 
cause of the excessive revenue, this bill was not made a political 
measure, and so passed easily. Pennsylvania was the only state 
that opposed it. 

Again the domestic conditions of the country changed in 1860, 
and there followed the most abnormal period the United States had 
yet known. In 1861 the Morrill tariff act began the change towards 
protection. It was the intention to bring the rates back to the 1846 
tariff, and not to pass a war measure. In fact the War had nothing 
to do with this bill. It was an increase of tariff on the common 
articles of use, — wool, iron, etc. With this bill or soon afterwards 
came the Civil War ; and from then until 1865 scarcely a month passed 
that some change was not made in the tariff, so necessary was a 
heavy revenue. Great and important changes grew out of this period. 
Currency was inflated, a national banking system was organized, a 
great system of internal taxation was created, and duties on imports 
were enormously increased and broadened. These were all closely 
allied, and the reader should study all to understand any one. 

By 1862 the country knew the immensity of the War at hand, and 
began to look about earnestly for means to support it. Two meas- 
ures were enacted, — the internal revenue act and a new tariff bill. 
The latter was intended to increase duties on such articles as were 
taxed by the internal revenue bill, and thus protect the manufac- 
turers of those goods. Thus under cover of necessity for revenue 
and a desire to repay taxed manufacturers, the tariff bill of 1862 
easily became a law. Greater needs called for greater revenues, 
until June 30, 1864, when was passed what is probably the greatest 
tariff act of the world's history. It included three measures : first, 
the internal-tax system was enormously extended; second, import 
duties were correspondingly increased; and third, a loan of 
$400,000,000 was authorized. 



144 INSTITUTIONAL HISTORY OF UNITED STATES. 

The tariff act was carried through by Mr. Morrill, who was the 
great tariff manager of War times. His principle was, that when 
the internal tax was increased and extended, it should be offset by 
an import duty. He instituted this principle in the bill of 18G4, 
which was made to answer three purposes : to raise the enormous 
revenue needed ; to offset the internal taxation ; and to afford pro- 
tection. The average rate of tariff became 47.06 per cent., raised 
from 37.2. The bill practically remained in force for twenty years 
without any reduction, and to this day many of its provisions are 
not materially changed. 

At the close of the War revenue acts were in a chaotic condition. 
The inflated currency was to be contracted, and internal taxes were 
to be reduced and narrowed. By 1872 all such taxes as had close re- 
lation with import duties were wholly removed. But the tariff was 
not so easily and readily decreased. The protective idea had become 
deeply rooted and was hard to change. Each year bills were pre- 
sented for reductions which most persons felt should be made ; but 
the individuals directly interested siicceeded in putting off such 
legislation. So it was that a protective policy, formed because of a 
great war, became for a time the permanent policy of the govern- 
ment. 

In 1867 a bill was proposed that would reduce the tariff rate and 
leave it still strongly protective. The death of the bill made 
the war system more permanent and checked tariff legislation for 
some time. In 1870 the duties on some articles, such as coffee, tea, 
sugar, molasses, spices, and wines, were lowered ; and other articles 
were put on the free list. The duty on pig-iron was lowered from 
$9 to $7 per ton. The same bill increased the rate on several 
protected articles. In 1872 feeling became very strong against such 
an unwarrantedly high tariff, and the country opposed it with less 
regard for politics than usual. The West was for reduction. Its 
agricultural districts were suffering from low prices while imports 
were heavy. Also there was a large amount of surplus money — 
about $100,000,000 — in the Treasury, for which there was no im- 
mediate use. These things demanded and brought about a reduc- 
tion. The bill of 1872 made an average decrease of 10 per cent, on 
all tariff. In 1875 this bill was repealed and duties were put back 
to the rate of 1870. The panic of 187.'-> caused imports to fall off and 
revenues decreased alarmingly. The measure of 1875 was passed to 
arrest the decrease, and to build up the financial condition of the 



TARIFF AND REVENUES. 145 

coiintry. From 1875 to 1883 there was no very decided attempt to 
modify the tariff, except that the duty on quinine was abolished in 
1879. Up to 1883 we still had practically the one system of protec- 
tive tariff developed during the Civil War. 

Usually the condition of the Treasury has been a cause for tariff 
legislation. An overflow of money in the Treasury was cause for a 
reduction ; and a deficit, cause for an increase. There had been a 
large surplus revenue annually for some years, and in 1882 Congress 
appointed a committee to report at its next session on any desired 
changes in the tariff. The report was made, but Congress passed it 
in an amended form, containing much less reduction than was at 
first proposed. 

Fine grades of cloth were raised to 40 per cent, ad valorem 
by the bill. Cotton laces, etc., were raised from 35 per cent, to 
40 per cent. Steel was really raised, though apparently reduced. 
The rule was to advance the rate of protected articles. The ad 
valorem duties on wool were removed and the specific duties on 
woolen goods were reduced from 50 cents to 35 cents. Other reduc- 
tions were made, but as a whole the bill was protective and was a 
victory for that policy, for a decided reduction had been demanded. 
It was a measure to appease the tariff reform cry, and yet keep the 
system as nearly as possible as it was. Bills for reducing the tariff 
were proposed in 1884 and 1886, by Mr. Morrison. The one of 
1884 was the " Horizontal " tariff bill. 

In 1887-88 a new condition presented itself. Mr. Cleveland, in 
a message to Congress, advocated a general reduction of tariff, and 
the placing of raw materials on the free list. This outspoken policy 
committed the Democratic party to tariff reform, and threw the tariff 
question distinctly into politics, where it had not wholly been since 
the War. The Democrats prepared the Mills Bill, making sweeping 
reductions, and passed it in the House distinctly as a party measure ; 
and the Republicans prepared a bill in the Senate favoring high 
protection. Both bills were intended to influence votes and not to 
become laws. The Republicans elected Mr. Harrison President, thus 
winning a victory which was used with suicidal effect. 

The leaders of the Republican party looked on the victory as a 
complete vindication of a high protective policy. To be consistent, 
such a bill must be passed. The result was the McKinley Bill of 
1890. The bill is too voluminous to be given in this connection. 
There was considerable change made, but the protective policy was 



146 INSTITUTIONAL HISTORY OF UNITED STATES. 

preserved and extended. Indeed it never had been so distinctly 
stated in the history of the country. For some reason which need 
not be discussed here, the people repudiated the bill at the first 
opportunity, and the Democratic party, on a revenue basis, carried 
the country for tariff reform in 1892. 

When the Democratic party found itself in full power in both 
legislative branches and the executive chair also, it looked upon it 
as a victory for tariff reduction. The party introduced the Wilson 
Bill, which made the most radical reduction in tariff since the War. 
When the bill came to the Senate, it was greatly amended, and passed 
with a protective policy very much in evidence. The party could 
not agree within itself, since its most influential members had indi- 
vidual and pet articles that they wanted protected. Whiskey, sugar, 
iron, and coal were the main articles of contention. The bill cared 
for these as the manu.facturers desired. 

The only aim in this discussion has been to give a clear presenta- 
tion of the tariff as it has shown itself in our history. Principles 
have been discussed only when they must be understood to get the 
history. The tariff is a good thing to be let alone by our legislators ; 
and if it must be changed, let it be changed carefully, out of politics, 
and by a board Avhose sole duty it is to regulate tariff laws. If it is 
fair to the people to protect some articles and build up certain inter- 
ests, let us do so. If we need revenue, let us judicially get it from 
imports. If free trade on any article is to the welfare of the people, 
then such an article should be free. Everything should be for the 
greatest good to the greatest number. 

Turning our attention to internal taxes, the second great source 
of our revenue, we must begin with the Colonial Period. Alrginia 
collected taxes for three purposes, — for the king, for the colony, and 
for William and Mary's College. The first received quit-rents ; the 
second, export duties on tobacco sent out of the country, port duties 
on vessels, and a poll tax ; the third, export duties on tobacco shipped 
to other colonies. The colony made three levies yearly: first, the 
parish levy by the church officers; second, the county levy by the 
county judges ; and third, the levy by the Assembly. All these were 
paid in tobacco and were collected by the sheriff. 

In Maryland the projirietor held a title to all the land. He re- 
ceived all the (piit-rents, duties on tobacco, and fines and forfeitures. 
Taxes were regulated by the lower house, and generally were not 
very high. 



TARIFF AND REVENUES. 147 

North Carolina raised her revenue by quit-rents, tonnage duties, 
duties on rum and wine, and met provincial expenses by direct taxa- 
tion, — tolls, tithes, and taxing free negroes, and liquor. South Caro- 
lina and Georgia had similar taxes. 

Pennsylvania and Delaware were governed together. The pro- 
prietor received the quit-rents. Direct taxes were assessed and 
excise duties and tonnage duties were collected, the latter of which 
were used to construct lighthouses. There was no navy, and the 
militia cost the public nothing. 

New Jersey raised her duties mostly by taxing the land. New 
York suffered most in her revenues. The government was often ill- 
managed and expensive ; the frontier was much exposed to Indians, 
Avhich made the defense expensive ; consequently taxes were high, 
and were levied on negroes imported, other importations, and on real 
and personal property. 

In New England the system was different. All property was as- 
sessed without any distinction. Real estate and stock in trade were 
assessed according to the value put upon them by the town magis- 
trate. Artisans and mechanics paid taxes according to the estimated 
gains of their business. Each male person sixteen years old or more 
was taxed Is. 8d. The assessments were made in the autumn ; but 
transient settlers might be collected from at any time. Ministers 
were free from taxes. Taverns paid a duty on wine sold. An ad 
valorem duty of 5 per cent, was laid on all imported goods, except 
fish, wool, cotton, and salt. 

As the reader knows, taxes could not be raised during the Revolu- 
tion very successfully, since the nation had no power to collect them. 
OtRces were established in the states, and the people were asked to 
lend money to them for the expenses of the government. Two kinds 
of certificates were issued for these loans : one, payable in specie ; 
and one, payable in paper money. Of course the former kind drove 
out the latter. The government managed to borrow enough money 
from Europe to pay the interest on these loans. This made the 
people eager to lend their money to the nation. France, Holland, 
and Spain let the United States have money, and the Bank of North 
America often made loans to it, while Robert Morris many times 
borrowed money for the government on his own credit. In these 
ways and by issuing bills of credit the government carried the war 
to a successful end. But the reader must remember that all these 
plans were increasing the government's obligations, and that it was 



148 INSTITUTIONAL HISTORY OF UNITED STATES. 

left to JTaiuilton, after the Constitution was adopted, to really pro- 
vide means for paying this long-standing debt. 

This, then, was the first great question before the people in the 
National Period. Hamilton was ordered, as Secretary of the Treas- 
ury, to make a report on the public debt, to the next session of Con- 
gress. There were two kinds of debts, — foreign and domestic. The 
foreign was due France, Holland, and Spain. There was no trouble 
over this debt, as all knew what it was, and how it was contracted ; 
and all agreed that it should be paid. But the domestic debt caused 
trouble. There were three parts to it. One part included the debt 
made by the Continental Congress, which was held by the creditors 
in the form of certificates. This debt raised two questions. Many 
persons had bought these certificates of original holders for a sum 
much less than their par value. Now should the government pay 
the holders more than tliey had paid for them, and if full value were 
paid should not the difference go to the original holders ? Hamilton 
argued that the full value should be paid, and to the present holders, 
Madison and Jefferson argued that it should not, but Hamilton's 
views were adopted. 

The second part of this debt was incurred by the states in carry- 
ing on the War. This caused a bitter fight. The debt incurred by 
states amounted to $25,000,000. Congress had often promised to 
equalize this debt among the states, and the states ratified the Con- 
stitution with that understanding. The North had the greatest part 
of the debt, and wished to equalize it ; the South did not. Finally 
Congress assumed $21,500,000 and divided it equally among the 
states according to Hamilton's plan. This was put through Con- 
gress by a trade that gave the Capital City to the South, if it in 
turn would assist in adopting the assumption measure. 

The third part of the debt consisted of money given the states 
l)y Congress and vice versd. A committee was appointed to deter- 
mine the amount due by each to the other, after which it was to be 
paid. 

It was determined to fund the debt in the following way : the 
first branch, or foreign debt, was to bear G per cent, interest on 
two-thirds of the amount after 1790, and the same per cent, on the 
other third after 1800. Three per cent, interest was to be paid on 
the interest which had already accumulated on the debt. The 
government could redeem 2 per cent, annually of the portion bear- 
ing 6 per cent, interest, and the portion bearing 3 per cent, when- 



TARIFF AND REVENUES. 149 

ever it wished. The first and second parts of the domestic debt 
were funded as follows : four-ninths should bear G per cent, inter- 
est after 1791 ; three-ninths should bear 3 per cent, after the same 
time J and two-ninths, 6 per cent, after 1800. The third part of 
the domestic debt, consisting of amounts due the states by Con- 
gress and due Congress by the states, was adjusted by the commit- 
tee, and found to stand as follows : Congress owed New Hampshire 
f75,055, Massachusetts $1,218,881, Rhode Island $299,611, Con- 
necticut 1619,121, New Jersey if 49,630, South Carolina $1,205,978, 
Georgia $19,988; New York owed Congress $2,074,846, Pennsyl- 
vania owed $76,009, Delaware owed $612,428, Maryland owed 
$151,640, Virginia owed $100,879, North Carolina owed $501,082. 
The amount Congress owed the states was funded in the same man- 
ner as the other part of the domestic debt. The part dvie Congress 
by the six states named above was never paid. Thus the entire 
debt was funded, though it cost many bitter fights that were dan- 
gerous to the best interest of the new republic. 

The debt being funded, it was the next duty to arrange for some 
plan to pay both interest and principal. The sinking fund theory 
was a popular one and was used at this time. In 1801 a fund of 
$7,300,000 was provided to be set aside for reducing the debt. In 
1803, $700,000 was added to the sinking fund on account of the 
purchase of Louisiana. During the first ten years the debt was not 
decreased. There had been so much expense in the way of Indian 
wars, insurrections, trouble with the Barbary States and France, 
and so much of the internal tax had been evaded, that the govern- 
ment succeeded in meeting just its actual expenses. But in the 
next eleven years $46,022,810 was paid, leaving $46,154,189 yet to 
be paid. 

To secure the money to pay the debt incurred by the Revolution, 
bonds were sold. This of course paid the obligations as they were 
due then, but it did not lessen the debt, so that the sums given 
above were in the form of a bonded debt, made to run a certain 
time. While the government may secure money for immediate 
needs by selling bonds, or by issuing some form of paper money, 
neither way lessens the debt, but rather increases it, since interest 
will have to be paid on the bonds, and probably on the paper money. 

The bonds of 1791 were to be paid by the import duties, as 
already described, and by an internal tax on distilled spirits. In 
1794 taxes were levied on domestic carriages, snuff, sagar, auctions. 



150 INSTITUTIONAL HISTORY OF UNITED STATES. 

and the retail selling of wine and foreign liquors. In 1797 a tax 
was placed on stamped vellum, pai'climent, and paper. In 1802 all 
internal tax was repealed, and none was levied again until 1813, 
when one was placed on iron, sugar, snuff, spirits, candles, playing- 
cards, umbrellas, beer, ale, harness, boots, plate, furniture, and gold 
and silver watches. The tax on all these was abolished in 1818, and 
no internal tax was levied again until 1801. The amount of revenue 
raised by this system of taxing, previous to 1801, was $22,000,000. 
By 1834 the debt incurred by the War of 1812 was all paid. AVlien 
the Civil War began, the government was in debt only $60,000,000. 
Before that period the debt had never been higher than $130,000,000, 
an insignificant sum compared to the great debt that was made from 
18G1 to 1865. 

Our internal taxes from 1861 to 1891 amounted to the enormous 
sum of $3,965,451,451. The greatest sum collected in any one year 
was in 1866, when $346, 911,760.48 was raised, and $179,000,000 was 
raised the same year, by the tariff. The internal tax was levied on 
the principle, said one, " that whenever you see a head, hit it, and 
whenever you see a commodity, tax it." During the Civil War nearly 
all trades and sales were assessed. There was not a manufactured 
article of any importance but was taxed. Legacies, deeds, bank 
checks, drafts, orders, vouchers, etc., were all put on the tax list. 
By acts of 1866, 1867, 1868, 1872, and since, the vast mnnber of taxed 
articles, trades, and professions that existed during the Civil War has 
been reduced to four, — tobacco, liquors, bank circulation, and oleo- 
margarine. During the war the average internal tax was 5 per cent. 

Only in a few cases has the nation levied a direct tax. In 1797 a 
direct tax of $2,000,000 was apportioned among the states according 
to the population, and was levied on dwelling-houses, slaves, and land. 
This was but for one year. In 1813, 1815, and 1816 direct taxes were 
again levied for one year each, and on the same articles as in 1797, 
The tax of 1797 caused the Hot- Water Rebellion. The houses were 
taxed according to their size, number of rooms, doors, and windows. 
AVhen the proper officer came around to measure the houses, he was 
often met by resistance from the women, who sometimes poured hot 
water on him. Thus the name of the rebellion. 

During the Civil War a direct tax of $20,000,000 was levied on 
the states and each state was allowed 15 per cent, for collecting 
it. All the states made the collection except DelaAvare ; and all the 
territories, except Colorado. Territories had not been asked to con- 



TARIFF AND REVENUES. 151 

tribute a direct tax before this time, except in 1815, when the Dis- 
trict of Columbia was inchided. The United States has collected 
nearly $30,000,000 by direct taxation. But this system is not well 
thought of by the people in general. The policy is to allow the 
nation to raise its revenue by indirect taxation ; and to let the states, 
counties, townships, cities, and towns meet their expenses by the 
direct tax. 

One other mode of raising revenues is yet to be mentioned, and 
then the list is complete, — the income tax. Only twice has such a 
tax been levied ; first, in 1861, and second, in 1894. 

In 1861 a tax of 3 per cent, was levied on all incomes of $800 
or more. In 1865 the tax was changed to 5 per cent, on incomes 
of $600 or more ; and to 10 per cent, on those of $10,000 or more. 
In 1866 the amount collected by the law of 1865 was $72,982,159. 
In 1871 the tax was changed to 21 per cent, on an income of $2000 
or more. The Avhole amount of income tax collected from 1861 to 
1872, when the law was repealed, was $346,911,760.48. The second 
income-tax law was passed in 1894, but has been declared unconstitu- 
tional and is therefore not in force. It levied a tax of 2 per cent, on 
all incomes of more than $4000. 

If the reader will make a rough estimate of the amount of money 
necessary to run our government, he may be surprised. Perhaps the 
greatest sum ever collected in any one year was in 1866, when the 
government's expenses were more than $1,000,000 per day. In 
that year the income tax was $72,982,159 ; the internal tax was 
$346,911,760.48 ; and the tariff collection amounted to $179,000,000, 
making a total of $598,893,919.48 for that one year alone. Of course, 
never before nor since have we collected so much or needed so 
much, though our expenses for the year 1896 were $352,179,446. 
Our national debt in 1896 was $1,769,840,323. In 1866 it was 
$2,773,236,173.69. 

It may help the reader to understand the revenue system to give 
some figures. We collected by the internal revenue system from 
1789 to 1895, $4,716,760,904; by duties on imports, $7,415,871,509; 
by direct tax, $28,131,994 ; from public lands, $289,726,591 ; from 
other sources, $763,202,129. This makes a total of $13,213,693,127. 
Our expenses for the same time were, for miscellaneous purposes, 
$2,767,569,284 ; war, $4,980,773,259 ; navy, $1,327,407,789 ; Indians, 
$309,200,401; pensions, $1,950,403,063; interest, $2,791,537,714, — 
a total of $14,126,891,510. 



152 INSTITUTIONAL HISTORY OF UNITED STATES. 

In 1895 we collected, by the tariff, ^152,158,017 ; by internal reve- 
nues, $143,421,072; by sale of public lands, $1,503,347; from other 
sources, $16,706,438, making a total of $313,790,074. In that same 
year we spent, for miscellaneous items, $03,279,730; for the War 
Department, $51,804,759; for the Navy Department, $28,797,79(1 ; 
for the Indians, $9,939,754 ; for pensions, $141,395,229; for inter- 
est, $30,978,030, — a total of $356,195,298, leaving a deficit of 
$42,405,224, to meet which bonds were sold. The receipts for 1896 
were a little more than for 1895, and the expenditures a little less, 
making the deficit $25,000,000, in round numbers. The receipts 
and expenditures of the Post-office Department are nearly equal, each 
amounting to about $85,000,000 yearly. The Patent Office is also 
a self-supporting institution, bringing in more than $1,000,000 per 
year. Of our internal revenue, liquors and spirits pay more than 
$100,000,000 yearly; tobacco, nearly $30,000,000; and oleomarga- 
rine, less than $1,000,000. 

The reader will get some idea of the magnitude of the United 
States government from these amounts, and will realize the enormous 
revenues needed every year to meet necessary expenses. Include 
the expense of running the state, county, township, and city govern- 
ments, which is met by a direct tax, and we have millions more to pay. 



CHAPTER XIII. 

PAPER MONEY. 

Definition — Kinds of Money — Paper Monet — Kinds — Revolution — 
Fight over Paper — Paine — Banks — Constitution — From 1789 to 1811 
— From 1811 to 1816 — From 1816 to 1836 — From 1836 to 1860 — Treas- 
ury Notes — Greenbacks — Cost of War — President Grant — Confed- 
erate Currency — Present Notes. 

MONEY is a medium of exchange and a measure of value. Many 
things besides the precious metals have been used as money. 
The Greeks and Romans used cattle (pecus). The Romans' first 
coin was the copper ses. Cattle, beans, salt, silk, furs, tobacco, 
fruit, wheat, rice, oil, cotton cloth, shells, iron, copper, platinum, 
nickel, silver, and gold have all been used as money, and are but a 
few of the many things thus used. 

Tobacco was the money of Virginia and Maryland for more 
than a century. The first-named colony used tobacco certifi- 
cates and crop certificates, i.e. certificates issued on a deposit of 
tobacco or other produce in the warehouse. Massachusetts used 
corn for fifty years, though paper money and beaver skins were more 
popular. That colony made musket balls legal tender for sums not 
greater than 12 pence. Wheat, rye, barley, peas, dried fish, and 
cattle were all used at different times in the colonies. Taxes could 
be paid with any of these. A constable once collected 130 bushels 
of peas in Massachusetts for taxes. Wampum was used among the 
Indians, and also by the whites, as money. New York used beaver 
skins and wampum, and South Carolina used rice. These were legal 
tender, i.e. debts might be paid Avith them. If the creditor refused 
to accept them, the debtor could deposit the right amount in court 
and be freed from his debt. 

Because of the inconvenience and uncertain value of such articles 
and the lack of coin in the Colonial Period, paper notes or bills of 
credit came into use. Massachusetts was the first colony to issue 

153 



154 INSTITUTIONAL HISTORY OF UNITED STATES. 

paper money. Four tliousantl pounds were issued and made legal 
tender in 1692, to pay the soldiers returning from Canada. The 
bills depreciated, but specie was exchanged for some and the re- 
mainder were made to circulate at face value for private debts and 
at 5 per cent, premium for public debts. This brought them to par 
and even to a premium. 

The other colonies soon followed the example of Massachusetts. 
They issued bills of credit, redeemable at long periods, and loaned 
them on land mortgages at a low rate of interest. The borrower 
paid the interest to the state, and that constituted part of the reve- 
nue. South Carolina issued such bills in 1712 to the amount of 
£52,000. In 1714 Massachusetts issued £50,000 and placed it in 
the hands of five trustees to be let out on real estate mortgages 
at 5 per cent. They were to be paid back in five annual 
payments. In 1716 it issued £100,000 more to twenty trustees 
for circulation. By 1720 paper money became so plentiful, and 
consequently so worthless, that each governor was notified to 
sign no more bills except those required for the actual support 
of the government; but the order was disobeyed, and every 
colony except Virginia continued the circulation. Rhode Island 
put out £40,000 in 1721. The interest was payable in flax or 
hemp. 

In 1738 paper money circulated in New England at 25 per cent, 
of its face value ; in the Middle States, at 50 per cent. ; and in the 
South, at 10 to 15 per cent. Specie passed out of circulation 
altogether, and depreciation of paper grew so alarmingly that 
Parliament interfered, though with little effect. The colonists 
guarded such matters as revenue and taxation most jealously ; but 
they themselves grew alarmed over the condition of their finance, 
and made efforts to change it. Massachusetts tried to call a national 
convention to regulate paper money issues. Not succeeding, it then 
arranged to redeem its own l)ills at from twenty-five to fifty cents 
on the dollar, and became a "hard money" colony. 

There were several different kinds of bills of credit during the 
Colonial Period : (1) interest-bearing bills that were not legal ten- 
der; (2) interest-bearing bills that were legal tender for their face 
value, and sometimes for their interest also; (3) non-interest-bear- 
ing bills that were legal tender; (4) bills that were legal tender for 
future debts only; (5) bills that were legal tender for public dues 
only. These issues had the following effects and qualities, as a 



PAPER MONEY. 155 

rule : they caused the disappearance of specie ; made counterfeiting 
easy; brought on repudiation; wore out quickly; and depreciated 
greatly. 

When the colonies declared their independence, there was imme- 
diately a great need for money. They were poor and had not yet 
recovered from the French and Indian War. The paper money in 
circulation had stretched their individual credit to its limit. Con- 
gress had no certain powers, so it could not help them much. The 
result of the War was very doubtful, which fact alone would have 
given them very poor credit. The issuing of paper money seemed 
the only recourse, since the people refused to be taxed. One mem- 
ber in Congress said, " I will not consent to tax my people when I 
can send to the printer and get a wagon load of money." The colo- 
nies had often issued paper money; and Congress, it was thought, 
could do the same thing. This it did. 

The first issue was for f2, 000, 000; soon afterwards there was 
one for $1,000,000; and soon again one for 13,000,000. These 
notes were secured only by a promise to pay, and this promise was 
made by a government unrecognized by the world; consequently, as 
one would expect, they depreciated within a year. Some now pro- 
posed borrowing, but money was needed for immediate wants, and 
Congress again resorted to the printer. A call was made on the 
states, to which they did not respond. Paper circulation went on 
until f!2, 000, 000, 000 was put out. It was made legal tender, and 
the prices on articles to be sold were fixed by law so that the money 
would not depreciate so greatly. The states began issuing money, 
and this caused a greater depreciation of the national paper. Coun- 
terfeiting was a great source of annoyance, and helped make the 
currency worthless. Affairs continued in this way until the money 
depreciated so greatly that it passed entirely out of circulation. 
Congress then, as if it had not learned its lesson well enough, passed 
a law that the states should make new bills and it should counter- 
sign them. These bills did not circulate largely, for the people 
had not forgotten the disasters of previous issues. 

In spite of the financial hardships which the inflation of currency 
has always brought about, men have always claimed that a govern- 
ment stamp makes money good. The country was full of such men 
just after the Kevolution. It was hard for them to see that a hundred 
thousand dollars' worth of paper money did not add that much to the 
wealth of the country. Men remembered when it took forty dollars 



156 INSTITUTIONAL HISTORY OF UNITED STATES. 

to buy a hat, but thought a debased currency, which Avas plentiful, 
was better than a little coin which many of them never saw. In 
the election following the Revolution the jDaper money advocates 
won the victory, and proceeded to make laws for issuing paper 
money and for compelling its circulation. 

In Maryland, where opposition to paper money was strong, the 
fight was very bitter. The lower house passed a bill favoring the 
issue, but the Senate was for " hard money," and defeated it. Thus 
the paper money system was held in check in Maryland. Penn- 
sylvania did not oppose paper strongly. In 1785 seven thousand 
pounds of credit bills were issued by the state and loaned on real 
estate mortgages. The next year they depreciated 12 per cent. 
Kortli Carolina put large amounts of these bills of credit in circula- 
tion in several different ways. Some were loaned on real estate; 
some were paid to creditors of the state; and others were paid out 
for tobacco at a double price. The money was made legal tender, 
but in a short time the depreciation amounted to 30 per cent. 

South Carolina tried to enforce the circulation of bills at full 
value by a Hunt Club, whose duty it was to hunt out any one who 
refused the money, and severely punish him. The merchants bound 
themselves to accept it, but in spite of all that could be done depre- 
ciation followed. Legislators thus found it was one thing to 
"make " money and another to sustain its value. Georgia strove to 
enforce her law witli stringent measures. The workingman, how- 
over, refused to take the paper for more than it was worth in coin. 
The merchants resolved it should be done. No produce was allowed 
to leave the colony if the planters refused to take paper )uoney in 
l)ay. It was so throughout the Soutli, except in Virginia, in which 
colony the rage for paper money was never very strong. 

New York had its fight, and won for paper with the usual results, 
though the opposition was so strong there that certain limitations 
were set around it, and the effect was not so severe. Tom Paine, 
who had made a world-wide reputation on his essays, "Common 
Sense " and the " Crisis,'" wrote an article against the measure, from 
which 1 quote the following: "Money is money, and paper is 
paper. All the inventions of man cannot make it otherwise. Gold 
and silver are the emissions of nature, paper is the emission of art. 
The value of gold and silver is regulated by the quantity which 
nature has made in tlie earth. The fact that these metals were 
stampetl into coin added much to their convenience, but nothing to 



PAPER MONEY. 157 

their value. Their worth was in the metal and not in the stamp. 
Of the many sorts of base currency, paper is the basest. It has the 
least intrinsic value of anything that could be put in place of specie." 
In spite of such sentiment, however, New York " made " money, and 
suffered the consequences. 

New Jersey placed thousands of bills in circulation, which depre- 
ciated heavily. Rhode Island, the most fanatical of all the colonies, 
had a severe fight over the paper policy. It was ever ready to try 
any scheme. Nothing was too absurd for the little state to attempt; 
and nowhere else on the face of the globe was there such a per cent, 
of grumblers and fault-finders. The colony was founded in a hot- 
bed of dissatisfaction and whims, and held to its peculiar rights to 
the same for many years. Her scheme was, in 1784, to establish a 
bank of paper money. Moneyed men and creditors objected, but 
debtors and poor people favored the bank. It was defeated for the 
time, but in the election of 1786 it was victorious, and Avork began 
on the line proposed. The land tax was abolished, the excise law 
was suspended, and a paper bank of one hundred thousand pounds 
was established. The bills issued by the bank were to be loaned 
on real estate mortgages, which were to be of double the value of 
the amount loaned, and were to be paid back in fourteen years. 

The money was quickly put into circulation, but as soon as it 
began to be offered by the first holders, who gave mortgages on their 
lands for it, a heavy discount was placed on it. Then followed a 
forcing act which provided that any one who refused to take the 
money at its full value should be fined one hundred pounds, and lose 
the rights of a freeman. The result of this law was bad. Nobody 
would sell anything. The merchants shut up store. Traders 
closed shop, or bartered. Business almost stopped. The farmers 
retaliated on the merchants and traders and would bring no produce 
to town, hoping to starve out the merchants. In some places much 
distress followed. A butcher was arrested for not accepting the 
money, and his was made a test case. The forcing act had made it 
lawful for such offenders to be tried within three days after com- 
yjlaint, Avithout a jury. Three judges should make a quorum, their 
decision should be final, and any man disobeying it should be sent 
to jail. The case was tried, and the law was declared unconstitu- 
tional. A special session of the Assembly was called, and the judges 
were brought before it and severely reprimanded. 

The legislature, however, continued in its blindness. The money 



158 INSTITUTIONAL HISTORY OF UNITED STATES. 

was still in the hands of the first holders, as they could find no one 
who would take it at its face value, and there were many who would 
not have it at any price. The Assembly forced the Test Oath, which 
was an oath binding a man to take the paper at its full face value 
and to support it. Ship-captains were forbidden to go out or come 
into the ports until they had taken the oath. Lawyers could not 
practice, men could not vote nor be candidates for office, and officers 
could not take their seats, until they declared that the paper note 
was as good as gold, and that they would so take it. Still the 
money depreciated. It took six dollars of paper to buy one dollar 
of gold, and men who had mortgaged their land for the money now 
hastened to redeem their homes, but it was not easily done. Affairs 
remained in such a state in Rhode Island until the Constitution of 
the United States was adopted. In the other New England states 
matters were not nearly so bad, but the principle was the same with 
all. The experience of the colonies had been bitter, but it remained 
to be seen just how much the people learned from it. 

The Constitution, adopted in 1789, has these words: "No state 
shall emit bills of credit," and "No state shall make anything but 
gold and silver legal tender in jiayment for debts." The purpose 
of these clauses was to forever abolish state currency, and it is sup- 
posed by some that the intent was also to abolish national paper 
notes. Good authorities say that the latter was the chief pur- 
pose. 

The paper money in circulation for twenty years after 1789 was 
made up of small notes and bills of individuals, corporations, and 
state banks of only local circulation, and some remains of the old 
state paper of 1785. The history of currency before 18G1 presents 
many experiments and errors. Paper issues by corporations and 
individuals grew to alarming proportions in some states and were 
limited by legislation. 

The note of the National Bank was always good, but when the 
bank's charter expired, the period following was one of "Wild Cat " 
money or paper, issued by entirely irresponsible banks, corporations, 
and individuals on promises to pay in specie, though having none 
on hand. The money was mostly local in its value. Five hundred 
dollars of such money in Indiana might not be worth one-fourth of 
that sum in some other state, or even in some other locality in that 
state. The money might be good one hour and worthless the next. 
It was truly the "dark age" of national currency. In the Middle 



PAPER MONEY. 159 

and New England States the Suffolk system existed until 1861. It 
was a system by which the banks not only redeemed their notes 
over their own counters, but also at a central bank in Boston. This 
gave a wider circulation of their notes and a greater degree of con- 
fidence in them. 

From 1791 to 1861 the government issued no paper money except 
treasury notes, which bore interest and were redeemed in a short 
time. The first of these issues was in 1812, when the President 
was given the right to issue treasury notes not to exceed $5,000,000 
altogether, whenever he deemed them necessary. The notes bore 
interest at 5|- per cent., and were to be redeemed in one year after 
issue. A like issue was made in 1814; and one for $25,000,000, in 
1815. This issue of 1815 was made payable to order or to bearer as 
the President directed. If payable to order, all notes of $100 or 
more bore interest at 5| per cent., but notes of less than the $100 
denomination bore no interest. These notes were redeemed in 6 
and 7 per cent, bonds. Treasury notes were always legal tender, 
and the government has often borrowed money on them. Issues 
were made in 1816 and 1817. In 1822 treasury notes were made 
redeemable at the Treasury only. 

There were no issues of paper by the government between 1817 
and 1836; but the National Bank's charter expiring in 1836, it was 
thought necessary to make another issue, in 1837, of $10,000,000, 
in denominations of not less than $50. The notes were redeemed 
in one year with interest. The Treasury Act was extended in 1810, 
1841, 1842, and 1843, for $22,000,000 altogether. In 1846, 1847, 
and 1858 acts were passed ordering $53,000,000 worth of treasury 
notes issued. Several millions were issued during the Civil War, 
after which the greenback was authorized; and interest-bearing, 
short-time notes have not been used since. 

The greenback was the first legal tender note payable on demand 
and to bearer without interest after 1791. It was a currency issued 
against the better judgment of the government, but the demand 
and necessity seemed to justify the end, and the Supreme Court 
recognized its legality. The necessity was brought about in the 
following way : In 1861 Congress ordered the suspension of the sub- 
treasury system enacted in 1846, and ordered that all government 
offices should receive nothing but specie for debts. The banks 
desired this, as it would insure their interest in specie, and also 
would furnish a good plan for circulating the gold. But Mr. Chase 



160 INSTITUTIONAL HISTORY OF UNITED STATES. 

refused to suspend the system or force the government to receive 
specie only, but ordered that the banks shoukl pay in gokl. They 
began to do so under the promise that the government woukl not 
place in circulation the .f 50,000,000 -worth of treasury notes it had 
just prepared. It was not long until the notes began to circulate, 
and the banks decided that, while they would have enough gold to 
redeem their own circulation, they could not back the treasury 
notes, so they suspended specie payment, December 30, 1861. 
This forced the government to do the same, and all the plans of the 
financial department were brought to an end. 

It was thought by some that if Mr. Chase had cut off the sub- 
treasuries, withheld the issuing of the treasury notes, and received 
nothing but gold for public debts, the banks could have furnished 
all the gold needed, and thus put off the greenback issue until 
much later, if not altogether. ]>ut now the banks held the gold, 
refused to pay it out, paid off their loan to the government in 
treasury notes, and forced the sale of bonds, thus crippling the 
government and making money for themselves. 

The crisis was met by an issue of $150,000,000 in greenbacks, 
which were a simple promise to pay, bore no interest, and were 
payable on demand to bearer by the government. Tliey were called 
greenbacks because of their color. Soon another $150,000,000 was 
issued and put into circulation. At the same time $500,000,000 
worth of bonds, bearing interest at 6 per cent., payable in gold, 
was issued, payable after five years and within twenty. The bonds 
sold slowly, and Congress made two loans : one by issuing certifi- 
cates at 6 per cent., for one year or a shorter time; and the other, 
by a deposit in the Treasury by the banks of $100,000,000 of 
treasury notes payable on demand after thirty days, and bearing 
not more than 5 per cent, interest. The bonds began to sell well 
through the house of Jay Cooke & Co., but the secretary stopped 
the sale of the Oper cent, bonds, and put 5 per cents, on the market; 
these would not sell. Mr. Chase would not change his policy, so 
another issue of $100,000,000 of greenbacks was made to meet the 
emergency. Senator Tessenden succeeded Mr. Chase in 1864, and 
followed the policy of issuing per cent, treasury notes, payable 
in one, two, and three years, interest to be paid in coin. During 
the remainder of the War expenses Avere met mostly by these notes, 
though of course they did not lessen the debt. 

The student gets some idea of tlie War by knowing that the actual 



PAPER MONEY. 161 

cost to the states and nation was $6,189,929,908, a sum one cannot 
comprehend. More than $1,000,000,000 is still hovering over us 
as a nation, though for many years, until recently, the government 
decreased the debt at the rate of $12,000,000 per month. At 
times, during the War, the expenses of the government amounted to 
$1,000,000 per day. Not the least battle to win was the financial 
one in the Treasury Department at Washington. Beginning in 
almost a bankrupt condition, $60,000,000 behind, it carried to a 
successful end the greatest war of history, when money was counted 
and demanded by the billions. This was all done without depreciat- 
ing the credit of the country seriously. The financial history of the 
war period should be carefully studied by every citizen. It may 
be full of mistakes ; but if so, it is still a glorious record of mental 
achievement. 

After the War the great question was the limiting and drawing 
in of the inflated currency, of which billions of dollars existed in 
treasuiy notes and greenbacks. Congress soon ordered the treas- 
urer to retire $4,000,000 of treasury notes per month, which he 
did for twenty-one months, when the law was repealed. Specie 
payment was not resumed until January 1, 1879. Since that time 
there has never been any trouble in redeeming all notes in specie. 

The results of such money as the greenback are probably not 
yet apparent, though we have an opportunity now to see some of the 
effects. Four hundred and fifty millions of greenbacks were issued 
during the Civil War, which have kept our financial system in an 
unnatural condition since that time. The fact that $100,000,000 
in gold is kept in the Treasury to redeem these notes, and that 
bonds have had to be sold to keep up this fund, is good proof 
that greenbacks are not good money. The greenback served one 
good purpose, — it furnished money at a time when it Avould have 
been difficult to borrow it and dangerous to raise it by taxation. 
But there is certainly very little excuse for keeping a currency in 
circulation that must be backed by so much good specie for its 
redemption. While it has been the most successful paper money 
the government has ever put out, to just what condition it may lead 
is yet to be determined. It is a debt, dollar for dollar, and the 
people must pay it. It would have taken less money to meet the 
expenses of the war if raised as needed, than to have " made " 
money which must finally be redeemed with heavy interest. Except 
the danger there would have been in taxing the people heavily 



162 INSTITUTIONAL HISTORY OF UNITED STATES. 

enough to have met the war debt as it was made, there is no good 
excuse for the existence of greenback currency. 

In 1874 President Grant vetoed a bill to issue $14,000,000 worth 
of greenbacks. His wise statesmanship saw the danger in educat- 
ing the people to believe that the government has the power to 
grind out money in any amount and at any time. Governments, 
like individuals, must earn their money; they cannot create it. 
This attempt was made during the crisis of 1873, at which time 
men theorized most wildly about money. The Specie Resumption 
Act followed in 1870, when greenbacks passed to par, towards which 
they had been tending for ten years. In 1870 gold was only 110^; 
in 1876, 107; in 1877, 102i; and in January, 1879, it stood at par. 

The equality of gold and paper frightened some legislators, and 
they feared greenbacks would be retired. To prevent this, a law 
was passed in May, 1878, which requires the Secretary of Treas- 
ury to reissue greenback notes whenever they are redeemed. The 
law still stands, but it is sincerely to be hoped that soon a law will 
permit us to redeem and destroy them, and that never again will 
we resort to such unsound financial policy. 

CONFEDERATE CURRENCY. 

The treasury notes of the South during the Civil War Ave re not 
always made legal tender. The first issue was for f 2,000,000, in 
denominations of not less than $50. It was redeemable one year 
from date of issue, bore 3.65 per cent, interest, and was payable to 
order. This issue was a mere loan and was not classed as currency. 
The next issue was for $20,000,000, which bore no interest, and 
was redeemable in two years in specie or could be funded into 8 per 
cent, bonds, which were exchangeable for the notes at the option of 
the holder. This issue was legal tender for all dues except export 
duties on cotton. The issue of the treasury notes increased; 
within a year nearly $300,000,000 had been placed in circulation. 
Not only these Avere issued, but the states, counties, cities, toAvns, 
private companies, and individuals issued bills, though they were 
not legal tender. The amount of such currency became alarming, 
and several plans were outlined to lessen it. The states attempted 
to make a loan to the general government to redeem the treasury 
notes; but they Avere in as poor condition as the government; the 
parts, of course, were not stronger than the Avhole. In spite of all 



PAPER MONEY. 163 

attempts to stop the issue, or rather to make it unnecessary, it went 
on at the rate of $50,000,000 per month. In December, 1863, there 
were $700,000,000 worth of treasury notes in circulation, and gohl 
and paper stood 1 to 26. By 1865, the close of the War, these notes 
were worth one cent on the dollar. Thvis again a part of our coun- 
try found it impossible to " make " money. *' Money is money and 
paper is paper." 

The present notes of the United States consist of greenbacks, 
gold and silver certificates, treasury notes, bank notes, and cur- 
rency certificates. The greenbacks, or United States notes, were 
first issued in 1863, and their limit now is $310,081,016. They are 
issued in denominations of $1000, $500, $100, $50, $20, $10, $5, 
$2, $1; are a legal tender, except where otherwise contracted; are 
exchangeable for all kinds of money except gold certificates; and 
are redeemable in coin in sums of fifty dollars and over at the sub- 
treasuries in New York and San Francisco. 

Gold certificates were first issued in 1882, and there is no limit to 
the amount that can be circulated as long as there is $100,000,000 
worth of free gold in the Treasury. If the gold falls below that 
sum, the certificates are not issued. They are issued in denomina- 
tions of $10,000, $5000, $1000, $500, $100, $50, and $20; are not 
a legal tender ; are receivable for all public dues ; are exchangeable 
for gold coin or any other money at the treasuries ; are redeemable 
in gold coin at the Treasury; and are issued on gold deposits. They 
bear no interest and are payable on demand. Silver certificates 
are issued on silver deposits in the Treasury, are payable on demand 
to the bearer without interest, and are not a legal tender. They 
were issued in 1878, in the same denominations as the greenbacks. 
These certificates are receivable for all public dues, are exchange- 
able for dollars or smaller coin at the Treasury, and are redeemable 
in silver dollars. 

Currency certificates were ordered issued in 1872, and their limit 
is the same as that of the greenbacks. They are issued in the 
denomination of $10,000 only, are not a legal tender, are not receiv- 
able, are exchanged for greenbacks, and are redeemable in green- 
backs at the sub-treasury that issued them. These certificates are 
in use by National Banks in clearing house transactions. 

Treasury notes bear date of 1890, and were issued on a deposit 
of silver in the Treasury. The limit of the issue is $156,044,615, 



164 INSTITUTIONAL HISTORY OF UNITED STATES. 

The denominations are $1000, $100, $50, $20, $10, $5, $2, $1. 
They are a legal tender unless otherwise contracted, are receivable 
for all dues, are exchangeable for all kinds of money except gold 
certificates, and are payable in coin at the Treasury. The treasury 
note is payable on demand, without interest. 

Bank notes were provided for by law in 18G3. They are limited 
to 90 per cent, of the par value of United States bonds owned by 
national banks, and are issued in denominations of $1000, $500, 
$100, $50, $20, $10, and $5. The bank note is not a legal tender, 
and is receivable for all dues except duties on imports and interest 
on the public debt. It is exchangeable for silver and minor coin, 
and is redeemable in " lawful money " at the Treasury or bank of its 
issue. Bank notes bear no interest, and are payable on demand. 

The student should study the nature of money, and no better 
way is open than by the study of its history. It makes no differ- 
ence about theory. If theory has not worked, we should not be 
carried away by it. Kemember the statement of Paine, '* Money is 
money and paper is paper." The stamp does not make the value. 
Let every dollar be worth that sum on the market as merchandise. 
Otherwise it is not a good dollar and will certainly bring evil results. 



CHAPTER XIV. 

COIN. 

Qualities — Ouigin — Colonial Period — Foreign Coins — Standard 
Weights and Ratio from 1772 to 1834 — Clipping — Uncertain Value 

— Plans — War on Foreign Coin — Standard Weight and Ratio in 
1834 — Effect — California — Coins before 1860 — Act of 1853 — 
"Crime of 1873" — Trade Dollar — Bill of 1878 — Sherman Act — Re- 
peal — Present Condition — Theories — Present Coin — Total Coinage 

— Double Eagle — Eagle — Half-eagle — Quarter-eagle — Gold Dol- 
lar — Silver Dollar — Trade Dollar — Half-dollar — Columbian 
Half-dollars and Quarter-dollars — Quarter-dollar — Twenty-cent 
Piece — Dime — Half-dime — Three-cent Piece — Five-cent Piece — 
Three-cent Piece (Nickel) — Two-cent Piece — Copper Cent — Nickel 
Cent — Bronze Cent — Half-cent — Cost — Silver Agitation — Elec- 
tion OP 1896, 

"VTOT everytliing makes good money. Writers generally agree 
-1-^ that money to be good must have six qualities : (1) portabil- 
ity, the quality of being easily transported in sums of great value ; 
(2) homogeneity, the quality of uniformity in value ; that is, if a part 
is worth a certain sum, a part twice as large would be worth twice as 
much, etc. ; (3) durability, the quality of wearing well ; (4) divisi- 
bility, the quality of being divisible into smaller quantities; (5) cog- 
nizability, the quality of being easily and quickly recognized in its 
value, something that will bear stamping plainly in order to make it 
easily recognized ; (6) stability, the quality of remaining very nearly 
of one value. 

Nothing has been discovered yet that possesses all these quali- 
ties perfectly. Experience has taught that silver and gold very 
nearly do, and the gold more nearly than the silver. Gold, in 
small quantities, is valuable ; it is homogeneous ; it is reasonably 
durable, though not as nearly so as it should be, as without alloy it 
wears away very rapidly ; it is easily divisible ; it is recognized 
without trouble ; and it is the most stable metal in value. 

165 



1G6 INSTITUTIONAL HISTORY OF UNITED STATES. 

Money had its origin in necessity. Man, in the early stages of 
society, bartered. One man had a cow; another, a hog. The first 
wanted pork; the second, beef. They would make the exchange. 
But as civilization developed and industries multiplied, bartering 
became too inconvenient. This man has wheat, and he wants corn. 
This one has corn, but wants oats. Another has oats, but wants 
hogs ; and another has hogs and wants none of the property of his 
neighbors. What shall they do ? They will be forced to agree on 
a convenient measure of value that will pay for everything. Then 
these men could sell their wheat and buy corn, or sell oats and buy 
hogs Avith this medium of exchange. Thus money is a necessity of 
civilization, and man has developed it from force of circumstances. 
Most metals are either too scarce or too plentiful to be used as 
money. Iron is too plentiful, and hence too cheap. Diamonds are 
too scarce, and therefore too vahiable. Money is stamped simply for 
convenience; otherwise it must always be weighed when paid out, 
which would be very inconvenient. 

One might almost say there was no coinage during the Colonial 
Period. Marjdand had a mint in 1660. Massachusetts coined a 
little money in 1651, but it did not circulate widely. The Spanish 
dollar and half-dollar were the chief coins in circulation in the latter 
part of the Colonial Period, and they circulated long after the Revo- 
lution. United States has not coined money extensively until since 
the Civil War. Men are still living who can remember a time when 
our coin was not national in use, but local. Fifty years ago the coin 
in small change was mostly foreign. The eighth and sixteenth of 
the Spanish milled dollars were most used, and had many different 
names. In New York and North Carolina the eighth was a shilling; 
from New Jersey to Maryland it was valued at 11 pence and was 
called eleven-penny bit, or the levy ; and for the same reason it 
was named pence in New England. In New York the sixteenth was 
called sixpence ; in Pennsylvania, five-penny bit or fip ; and in New 
England, fourpence. The people in Louisiana called it a picayune. 
Sixpence in Massachusetts meant 8^ cents ; and a shilling, 16|. 
Two and threepence equaled 37|- cents. Three shillings made oO 
cents; four and sixpence, 7/) cents; and nine shillings, .'i^l.50. 

The English guinea, crown, shilling, and pence, with French, 
Spanish, and (Jerman coins, circulated in the colonies. The people 
were most familiar with the Spanish coin because a heavy trade was 
carried on with Sj^iain and her American possessions. The Spanish 



COIN. 167 

milled dollar was the unit of value. The coin called the joe, short 
for Johannes, was worth $16. The doubloon was valued at $15; 
the half-joe passed for $8; the double pistole, $7|f; and the pistole 
at one-half that amount. The moidore was worth $6 ; the English 
guinea was worth $4||; the French guinea was valued at $4f|-; the 
carolin, at f4||; the chequin, at $164.96. These coins, with their 
fractional pieces, made up the gold coin in circulation doAvn until 
1830. Change consisted of silver money. The Spanish milled dollar, 
the half, quarter, eighth, and sixteenth, the English and French 
crown, the shilling and sixpence were silver. The cent and French 
sou were copper. 

In 1772 the silver dollar of 377^ grains pure silver was made the 
unit. The weight was made 375.64 grains in 1785. The Spanish 
dollar contained 386|^ grains at that time. The weight of the Ameri- 
can silver dollar was made 371^ grains pure silver with 44| grains 
alloy in 1792, making 416 grains standard, which weight was made 
up of 1485 parts silver, and 179 parts copper as alloy. This remained 
the weight until 1837. The gold standard was made 24| grains 
fine gold in 1792, which remained the standard until 1834. The 
alloy, consisting of silver and copper, was Jg- part, making the gold 
dollar contain 27 grains. This made the ratio 15 to 1. 

Because of counterfeiting, coin was weighed. The tricks of 
counterfeiters were many and hard to detect. " Clipping " was 
much practiced. The clippings were sold and the clipped coin 
was passed at its stamped value. This practice became so common 
that Washington once said, "A man must yet carry a pair of bal- 
ances in his pocket or run the risk of receiving money of which it 
would take five quarters to make a dollar." Again, there was no 
national standard of value. A man, starting on a tour from Boston 
where six shillings made one dollar, must pay eight for a dollar in 
ISTew York ; in Pennsylvania he must pay seven shillings and six- 
pence ; and down in Charleston, four and sixpence. So many dif- 
ferent standards of value were very inconvenient. The j^eople 
needed money worth as much in Georgia as in New York or Boston. 
Except the copper cent there was no such coin. 

Gouverneur Morris, the father of our coinage system, presented 
a plan for securing this, and advocated that three things be ob- 
served : first, the new coin should closely resemble the old, that 
people would be readily familiar with it ; second, the unit should 
be very small ; and third, that money should increase in decimal 



1G8 INSTITUTIONAL HISTORY OF UNITED STATES. 

ratio. Two years after tins plan was presented, a committee, the 
fhairman of which was Jeiferson, made substantially the same re- 
port to Congress, except that the smallest change should be the one- 
hundredth part of a dollar. Mr. Morris had recommended that 
the fourteen hundred and fortieth part of the dollar should be the 
smallest piece of money. The dollar was adopted as the unit, and 
the decimal system was taken as the plan of subdivision. Eight 
coins were to be struck, — a gold piece equaling ten dollars, the 
silver dollar, half-dollar, double-tenth, tenth, five-copper piece, and 
copper and silver live-pieces. The half-penny was added to the 
number in 1785, and this system, originated by Morris, amended 
by Jefferson, and added to by Hamilton, became the coinage system 
of the United States. 

The attempt to drive out foreign coin was not successful. All 
such money was declared not legal tender after 1797. The law 
drove out of circulation millions of dollars. Had it been faith- 
fully obeyed, the people must have fallen back to bartering, since 
the United States had not coined quite $740,000 before 1797. It 
was disobeyed everywhere, though under the restriction great dis- 
tress followed, until the government relented in favor of French 
crowns and finally in favor of all. The same law was reenacted 
in 1809, except that the Spanish milled dollar was then not inter- 
fered Avith. The use of foreign coins continued in spite of the 
law, and in 1811 United States coin was the rarest coin in circu- 
lation in the country. Such was true for thirty years longer and 
even until the Civil War. Comparatively little coining was done 
by the United States before 1870. 

The ratio between gold and silver, as stated above, was 1 to 
15 from 1792 until 1834, and then Avas made nearly 1 to IG 
(1 to 15.988 Avas the exact ratio) by fixing the standard Aveiglit 
of the tAvo metals. That of the gold dollar was fixed at 25.8 
grains Avith standard fineness y''^. This standard made the fine 
gold in a dollar 23.22 grains. The other one-tenth, consisting of 
silver and copper, was alloy. The standard Aveight of the silver 
dollar Avas made 412^- grains, one-tenth of Avhich Avas copper as 
alloy, making the pure silver in a dollar 371^ grains. The gold 
standard Avas fixed in 1834, and the silver standard in 1837. These 
standards still remain as fixed then. Under the preceding ratio, 
1 to 15, gold Avas undervalued 4|- per cent. ; i.e. the amount of 
gold it took to buy fifteen ounces of silver in the United States 



COIN. 169 

"would buy 4|- per cent, more silver in the markets of the world, 
the market ratio being 1 to 16^. Debts were paid in silver and 
gold was exported, since ^100 of gold would buy $104.50 worth 
of silver in Europe. 

Owners of gold would export it, buy silver, import that and pay 
their debts with it, or buy gold for export^ thus making $4.50 on the 
hundred dollars. This, of course, drove gold out of circulation at 
home. But when the ratio became 1 to 16, the metals changed 
in the use made of them. This ratio began what is known as 
the gold period. The ratio meant that one ounce or pound of gold 
was worth sixteen ounces or pounds of silver for debt-paying pur- 
poses. Silver now, instead of gold, was cheapened by this ratio; 
i.e. it was undervalued, compared to the value the markets of 
foreign countries put on it. It took only 15.73 ounces of silver to 
get one of gold in Europe. In this country it took 15.988 ounces 
to buy the same amount. It paid owners of silver to send it abroad, 
buy gold with it, and bring the gold to this country and buy silver 
for export. They cleared .258 ounce of silver on every ounce ex- 
ported. Of course it was exported and gold alone circulated. The 
small coins were mostly of the Spanish and Mexican money. 

When the great gold fields of California began placing their 
produce on the market, gold became much more plentiful and there- 
fore was cheaper. As it cheapened, silver advanced when measured 
by a gold value, and owners of silver found it much more profitable 
than ever to export it and use the cheaper money to pay debts. To 
keep our small change from wholly leaving the country. Congress 
passed a law in 1853 making the halves, quarters, dimes, and half- 
dimes, 7 per cent, lighter, and legal tender in sums not exceeding 
$5. This overrating of silver change stopped the exportation and 
placed silver in circulation along with gold. Now that the small 
coin in silver were 7 per cent, lighter, they were worth no more 
abroad than here, so men did not melt them and send them abroad 
to purchase gold. 

DoAvn to 1860 one hundred and seventy-four different denomina- 
tions of silver coin and many gold coins circulated in the United 
States. From 1793 to 1834 the gold coins of England, Portugal, 
France, Spain, and their dominions, were legal tender in this coun- 
try. The Spanish silver dollar and French crown, with their frac- 
tional parts, had the same legal quality. From 1834 to 1860 the gold 
coins of Great Britain, l*ortugal, Brazil, France, Spain, Mexico, and 



170 INSTITUTIONAL HISTORY OF UNITED STATES. 

Columbia, and the silver dollar of Spain, Mexico, Peru, Chili, Central 
America, and Bolivia, with the five-franc of France, Avere legal 
tender. From 1805 to 1836 no dollars were coined by the United 
States. Its dollars, previous to 1805, Avere 2^ grains lighter than 
the Spanish dollar. The American dollar would buy just as much 
in the West Indies as the Spanish dollar. The dollar of the United 
States was then worth more in the West Indies than at home. 
Very naturally, it was sent to the Indies and traded for the Spanish 
dollar, Avhich was brought back to the United States and put in 
circulation, making the trader 2^ grains on the dollar. Our mints 
were coining dollars rapidly, and yet they were not in circulation. 
Jefferson then ordered the mints to cease coining them. 

After the act of 1853, which made silver change lighter, as men- 
tioned above, there was no radical legislation on silver until 1873. 
The act of that year bears the name, " The Crime of 1873." It is 
claimed by silver adherents that the bill was fraudulently and 
secretly passed by Congress. The reader, if he understand the 
Avorking of Congress, cannot believe that it was secretly done. It 
would be impossible to pass any bill in that manner. Every bill 
must be printed, and read before each house several times. This 
one Avas printed thirteen times, and the daily proceedings concern- 
ing it came out in the Congressional Kecord, in which every one 
might read them. Also the bill Avas before Congress and the country 
thirty-four months. These facts Avould indicate that secrecy Avas no 
part of the " Crime." I am not able to say about the fraud. There 
may have been such, and there may not. It is too true that our 
lawmakers are not ahvays honest. It is probable also that many 
congressmen did not knoAv the full import of the bill ; but if so, it 
was due to their oAvn negligence, Avhich is often a characteristic of 
lawmakers. 

The law did not demonetize the standard silver dollar, and 
neither did it mention it, but substituted the trade dollar for it. 
The sih'er already coined Avas not disturbed by the bill. Because 
it did not mention the standard dollar, and prohibited the coinage of 
money not mentioned, the standard dollar Avas not coined for a fcAv 
years after 1873. 

The trade dollar had 420 grains Troy. This dollar and the 
half, quarter, and dime Avere made the silver coins by the act of 
1873, and were legal tender for sums not exceeding f 5. The trade 
dollar Avas intended for foreign trade, and Avas given the extra 



COIN. 171 

weight that it might satisfy such, since the standard dollar did not, 
because it was too light. The price of silver steadily declined, 
until 420 grains were worth less than a dollar, and it became profit- 
able to circulate trade dollars in the United States instead of ex- 
porting them. To prevent this, the legal tender value was taken 
away from them in 1876, and the coinage of the same limited to 
export demands. They then circulated at their market value, 
and speculators gathered them up, expecting the government to 
redeem them at their stamped value. This it did by the act of 1887, 
which provided that all such dollars should be exchanged for stand- 
ard dollars, dollar for dollar, if presented within six months. 

In 1878 a bill became a law to coin the standard silver dollar of 
the weight of 4121 grains Troy, and to purchase not less than two 
million dollars' worth, nor more than four millions' worth of silver 
bullion per month, and coin it into standard silver dollars with full 
legal tender value, except when stated otherwise in a contract. 
This bill created a seigniorage in favor of the government ; i.e. the 
difference between the market price and legal tender value was in 
favor of the government. If the government should buy f 5000 
worth of silver bullion and make $7000 worth of silver dollars out 
of the amount, the difference, $2000, would be in favor of the 
government, and would be called a seigniorage. The same law 
provided that one might deposit his silver in the Treasury at 
Washington, and receive in return silver certificates in denomina- 
tions of not less than $10 each. There was $378,166,793 coined 
under this act, of which only $57,000,000 circulated in metal. The 
rest was issued in certificates. 

The Sherman act of 1890 provided that the Secretary of Treas- 
ury should buy 4,500,000 ounces of silver bullion each month 
if offered for sale, and if not offered, so much as should be, at 
market price, except the price must not exceed one dollar for 
371.25 grains pure silver, equal to $1.2929. Treasury notes 
were to be issued for the bullion deposited, which were to be 
redeemed in silver or gold at the will of the Secretary of Treasury. 
The same bill provided for the coinage of 2,000,000 ounces per 
month into standard silver dollars until July 1, 1891. After that 
time, enough should be coined to redeem the treasury notes, and the 
seigniorage should be paid to the United States. Following the pas- 
sage of this bill came the largest exportation of gold in our history. 
To make matters worse, India demonetized silver, and it became 



172 INSTITUTIONAL HISTORY OF UNITED STATES. 

cheaper than ever. It was said that the Sherman act caused the 
panic of 1893. The President called an extra session of Congress, 
which repealed the purchasing clause of that act, October 30, 1893. 
If this clause were the cause of the panic, its repeal did not seem 
to materially help it. Oiir gold continued to go abroad. To keep 
up the $100,000,000 reserve fund for redeeming greenbacks, and 
to meet our running expenses, $250,000,000 worth of bonds have 
recently been sold. 

The present agitation (189C) is intense on the coinage question. 
One faction, mainly the West, desires free and unlimited coinage of 
silver, while the East leads in the effort to demonetize it, or to limit 
its coinage. Free coinage, as generally used in the United States, 
does not mean free absolutely, but free to the extent that silver 
shall be coined at actual cost. The owner of silver shall be allowed 
to take it to the mint and by paying the necessary expense have it 
coined into such money as he likes and returned to him. As it has 
been, the owner of such uncoined silver must sell it to the govern- 
ment at a certain price, and the government coins it into dollars 
whose legal tender value is worth much more than their market or 
intrinsic value. " Thus," say free coinage advocates, " the govern- 
ment gains the difference, while under free coinage the individual 
Avould have it." Unlimited coinage means that all silver mined 
shall be coined if the owners desire. 

In the discussion of finance we have the two theories, lUmetalism 
and Monometalism. Tlie latter means there can be but one standard, 
either silver or gold, and that, whichever metal is accepted as this 
standard of value, the other must be measured by it. Believers in 
l'>imetalism advocate a double standard: let both gold and silver, 
at a fair ratio, be measures of value. 

We have at present the following coin : gold, silver, copper, and 
nickel. The gold coins in circulation are the $20, $10, $5, and 
$2.50 pieces. They have an unlimited coinage, are received for all 
dues, and are exchangeable for certificates under the limitations of 
the law. The silver coins are the $1 piece and the subsidiary coins. 
The $1 is coined to redeem treasury notes and is limited to that 
purpose. It is a legal tender unless otherwise contracted, is received 
for all dues, and is exchanged for silver certificates or smaller coin at 
the Treasury. It may be redeemed by depositing it for a silver cer- 
tificate. The subsidiary coins are the 50-cent, 25-cent, and 10-cent 
pieces, and are issued according to the needs of the country. They 



COIN. 173 

are a legal tender for sums of $10 or less, are exchangeable for 
minor coins, and are redeemable in " lawful money " at the Treasury 
in sums of $20 or any multiple thereof. 

Minor coins are the five-cent piece and the one-cent piece. They 
are issued according to the needs of the government, are legal tender 
for sums of 25 cents or less, are not exchangeable, and are redeem- 
able in " lawful money " at the Treasury in sums of $20 or more. 
The five-cent piece weighs 77.16 grains and is 75 per cent, copper 
and 25 per cent, nickel. The one-cent piece weighs 48 grains and 
is 95 per cent, copper and 5 per cent, tin and zinc. 

From 1792 to 1896 the total coinage of American mints was : of 
gold, $1,732,552,323 ; of silver, $681,909,619.15 ; of bronze, copper, 
and nickel, $26,481,531.79, making a total of $2,440,943,473.94. 
This sum includes the $2,501,052.50 in Columbian souvenir half- 
dollars, and the $10,005.75 in souvenir quarter-dollars. 

The double eagle (gold) was authorized March 3, 1849, and 
weighed 516 grains. There has been $1,210,703,700 coined in 
this denomination. The eagle (gold) was authorized in 1792 and 
Aveighed 270 grains. In 1834 the Aveight was changed to 258 grains. 
Before 1896 there had been $259,127,230 coined in gold eagles. 
The half-eagle (gold) was first coined in 1792 and weighed 135 
grains. This was changed to 129 grains in 1834. There has been 
$212,921,675 coined in this denomination. The quarter-eagle 
(gold) was coined in 1792 at 67.5 grains. It was changed to 64.5 
grains in 1834. The amount of gold that has been coined into 
quarter-eagles is $28,681,005. There has been $1,619,376 worth 
of gold coined in $3 pieces. This denomination was authorized in 
1853, and weighed 77.4 grains. The coinage of this piece was dis- 
continued in 1890. The gold dollar was authorized in 1849 with 
25.8 grains in it. There has been $19,499,337 worth of gold 
coined into $1 pieces. This coinage was discontinued in 1890. 

The silver dollar was authorized in 1792. Its different weights, 
etc., have already been given in this article. There has been 
$430,457,987 worth of silver coined into $1 pieces. Of this amount 
but $8,031,238 was coined before 1873, when the coinage of the 
dollar was discontinued for five years. The trade dollar was author- 
ized in 1873. The coinage was limited to the export demands and 
was discontinued in 1887. The amount coined was $35,965,924. 
The half-dollar was first coined in 1792. Its weight was 208 
grains. In 1837 the weight was lowered to 185.625 grains. Again 



174 INSTITUTIONAL HISTORY OP UNITED STATES. 

it was changed to 192 grains in 1853, and to 192.9 grains in 1873. 
There has been $132,259,041 coined in half-dollars. The Columbian 
half-dollars were coined in 1892, with the same weight as the regular 
half-dollars. There were 5,002,105 of these pieces coined, making 
$2,501,052.50. 

The quarter-dollar was provided for in 1792 and weighed 104 
grains. In 1837 it was changed to 103^ grains, in 1853 to 96 grains, 
and in 1873 to 96.45 grains. The value of the quarters coined is 
$48,183,179.25. The Columbian quarter had the same weight and 
fineness that the standard had. It was coined in 1892 to the amount 
of $10,005.75. The amount of the Columbian quarters and half- 
dollars is included in the amount of the regular coinage given 
above. The 20-cent piece was coined by act of March 3, 1875. 
It contained 77.16 grains. The coinage was prohibited in 1878, when 
only $271,000 had been coined. The dime was provided for in 1792, 
and weighed 41.6 grains. It was changed to 41^ grains in 1837, to 
38.4 grains in 1853, and to 38.58 grains in 1873. By 1896 there had 
been $28,610,171.30 coined in dimes. The half-dime began its career 
in 1792, and then weighed 20.8 grains. In 1837 it weighed 20f grains, 
and in 1853, 19.2 grains. It was discontinued in 1873. The total 
amount coined was $4,880,219.40. The three-cent piece was author- 
ized in 1851, and weighed then 12| grains. In 1853 it weighed 11.52 
grains ; and in 1873 it was discontinued. There was $1,282,087.21 
coined into these pieces. This completes the list of silver coins. I 
shall now speak briefly of the minor coins. 

The five-cent piece (nickel) was first coined in 1866, since which 
time $13,553,730.50 has been coined. The three-cent piece (nickel) 
was authorized in 1865 and weighed 30 grains. It was composed of 
75 per cent, copper and 25 per cent, nickel. The coinage was stopped 
in 1890, up to which time $941,349.48 was coined. The two-cent 
piece (bronze) was first coined in 1864 and weighed 96 grains ; 95 per 
cent. Avas copper and 5 per cent, was tin and zinc. The coinage was 
stopped in 1873, when $912,020 had been coined. The copper cent 
was ordered coined in 1792. It then weighed 264 grains. In 1793 
it weighed 208 grains; in 1796, 168 grains; and was discontinued 
in 1857, after $1,562,887.44 had been coiijed. The nickel cent was 
coined first in 1857 and weighed 72 grains. It was composed of 88 
per cent, of copper and 12 per cent, of nickel. The coinage was dis- 
continued in 1864. The amount coined then was $2,007,720. The 
present cent piece (bronze) was authorized in 1864 and weighs 48 



COIN. 175 

grains. Its per cent, of copper, tin, and zinc is given above. There 
have been $7,463,898.26 coined in one-cent pieces. The coinage of 
the half-cent was begun in 1792. It was of copper and weighed 132 
grains. This was changed to 104 grains in 1793, and to 84 grains in 
1796. The coinage was discontinued in 1857, after $39,926.11 had 
been coined. The average cost of coining money ranges from .02203 
to .00871 dollar per dollar. 

To-day our coin is in an unsettled condition. Silver advocates 
are earnest and untiring in their demands for a place in our coinage 
for silver equal with gold and on a ratio of 16 to 1. Gold men are 
as earnest that this shall not be, and thus legislation is practically 
blocked in our National Congress. The Senate is the hope of the 
silver advocates. There, senatorial courtesy sometimes amounts to 
trickery, and men far in the minority can prevent any and all legis- 
lation. The next few years must see some settlement of the money 
question, now the most unsolved problem in our politics. The people, 
by ballot on November 3, 1896, overwhelmingly said that gold should 
be the single standard of money in the United States and that silver 
should be coined to an extent that would keep it on a parity with 
gold. They elected congressmen to solve the financial question for 
them on those principles; what they will do is to be seen. For 
humanity's sake it is hoped that *'We the people" shall have a rest 
soon from such dangerous and harmful politics. 



CHAPTER XV. 
BANKING. 

MASSVCHrSETTS — COLEMAX'S ScHF.ME — Nkw HAMPSniRE — BaXK OF 1740 — 

Bank OF North America — Orrosirios — National Bank ok 1701 — Re- 
newal of Disaster — State Banks — Kesilts — Bank of ISIG — Specie 
Payment — Jackson's Policy — Banking from 18o(> to ISOo — Safety 
Find System — Ohio — Free Banking — Indiana and Illinois — National 
Bank of 1S6o — Clearing House. 

THE tirst discussion in the colonies in regard to a bank was in 
^lassaclnisetts in 1052. A lack of coin made the people feel 
that a bank should be established to issue paper money. The bank 
was not established at that time, but thirts* years afterwards one 
was founded with power to issue bills on real estate and personal 
propery as seciirity. About 1695 Coleman's scheme was considered. 
His theory was that the amount of paper money in circulation in a 
country should equal the value of its real estate, and that a man 
should be allowed to borrow the money to the value of his real 
estAte. The '* scheme " was not tried then, but theories almost as 
absurd were put into practice later. A land bank was organized 
on a similar pi-inciple in 1741. The Massachusetts legislature 
sought to neutralize the effect of such an institution by issuing bills 
of ci"edit bearing interest. Also it jxissed a bill prohibiting any 
company from issuing bills of credit without an order from the 
court. But with all that could be done against the land bank, its 
bills were issued and it soon had 110,000 pounds in circulation, 
redeemable in silver at 10 shillings per ounce. 

New Hampshire organized a similar bank, which was very 
unpopular with the government and Parliament. The}' fought it 
constantly and finally forced it to cease operating in 1708. It also 
had the ill feeling of ^rassachiisetts, which would not permit the 
money of the bank to circulate in her territory. 

In 1740 a specie Ixink was formed in Massachusetts. Its notes 

176 



BANKING. 177 

were redeemable in fifteen years in silver at 20 shillings per ounce, 
or in gold at a pro rata value with silver. Parliament was hostile 
to the bank and it ceased business in 1742. Such theories of bank- 
ing as mentioned above were very popular during the Colonial 
I'eriod, a pai-t of which time many banks were organized. A bank 
was no more than an institution for issuing bills, and Coleman's 
plan of loaning these bills on real estate was the favorite. 

The first bank that became anything like national in its opera- 
tion was the Bank of North America, organized according to the 
}»lans of Ivobert Morris in 1781. The bank was provided for by an 
act of Congress, which the states ratified; they also made laws for- 
bidding any rival institutions. The notes of the bank were redeem- 
able in gold and silver on demand, and were receivable for taxes, 
duties, and debts due the government. The capital was $400,000, 
which could be increased to 310,000,000. The superintendent of 
finance was made inspector of the bank. When it began business, 
it had only $40,000 in specie. So critical was the condition that 
persons were employed to follow those who had drawn out specie 
and persuade them to return it. 

The bills of the bank began to circulate at 10 to 15 per cent, 
discount, but under the management of Eobert Morris they rose to 
par and remained there, and became even more popular than specie. 
For the first time in the history of banking in America, a bank was 
able to redeem its notes at par on presentation. The second year 
the bank did a business amounting to nearly $37,000,000. So great 
was the success that men became envious of those who had made 
investments in the bank and sought to organize a rival institution, 
Ijut did not succeed. To pacify the opposition, the directors agreed 
to increase the capital from $400,000 to $2,000,000, and allow the 
originators of the new bank to become stockholders in the old one. 

There was ill feeling towards the bank in Pennsylvania because 
of the issue of paper money. Its bills were much more popular 
than the state's, consequently the latter's depreciated. The bank 
could issue a certain amount only, and because its bills drove 
out state issues, the people of Pennsylvania believed that it made 
money scarce, since the state could issue bills in unlimited amounts. 
The opposition was powerful enough to take the Pennsylvania 
charter from the bank in 1785; but it had other charters from 
different states and so it continued business, though its credit was 
impaired, and its bills fell G per cent, below par. In 1789, when 



178 INSTITUTIONAL HISTORY OF UNITED STATES. 

the Constitution was adopted, the bank preferred to become a state 
institution rather than remain a national one. 

As soon as the new government began, there arose a strong feel- 
ing for a national bank, to give order and security to the financial 
system. There were three banks in the country Avhen Hamilton pro- 
posed his plan for the National Bank. They had about $2,000,000 
capital all told, and did not issue legal tender bills, so they offered 
very little security to the finances of the government. The new 
bank met with strong opposition from the Anti-Federalists, on the 
ground that it was not necessary and therefore Avas unconstitutional; 
but the opposition failed, and a charter was granted in 1791 for 
twenty years. The capital could not exceed $10,000,000, of which 
the government subscribed one-fifth, payable in specie, and in turn 
borrowed a like sum from the bank to be returned in ten annual 
installments. Interest on loans made by the bank could not exceed 
G per cent. The stock belonging to individuals was i)ayable, one- 
fourth in gold and silver, and three-fourths in G per cent, govern- 
ment bonds, or in 3 per cent, bonds at one-half the value of the 
() per cents. 

The bank could issue money of its own for circulation in amounts 
not to exceed its capital stock plus its deposits for safekeeping, pro- 
vided it had no debts save its deposits. If it had other debts, its 
money in circulation had to be decreased correspondingly. It was 
permitted to establish offices of discount and deposits onl}^, in the 
several states, and its bills were to be received for dues to the gov- 
ernment, if they were payable on demand, in gold and silver. It 
could sell the government stock subscribed, but could not purchase 
any of it. Five million seven hundred thousand dollars' worth of 
the stock was reserved for the main bank at Philadelphia, while the 
balance was divided among tlie eight branches established in the chief 
cities of the country. Within two hours after the stock was placed 
on sale, all was sold and four thousand additional shares applied for. 

Unless by special provision of Congress, the bank could not lend 
more than f 100,000 to the United States, or more than $50,000 to 
a state; and it could not lend any sum to a foreign prince or country. 
Laws were often made granting larger loans to the government in 
anticipation of duties on imports and tonnage. By 1795, $0,000,000 
had been borrowed, a sum over which the bank was very impatient, 
but it could not help itself, since such loans had to be made when 
Congress demanded them. 



BANKING. 179 

The government derived much benefit from the bank. It was 
a place of deposit for the surplus, and through it money could be 
transmitted easily, and revenues collected advantageously. It was 
a punctual paymaster, and gave great aid in its loans to the govern- 
ment, towards which it was always well disposed. As a place of 
deposit for government revenues, it held the place in our financial 
system now held by the sub-treasury. 

In 1808 a renewal of the charter was asked, but was strongly 
opposed on constitutional grounds and because foreigners held some 
of the stock; it was also claimed that the system centralized the 
money power too much. The matter floated along until 1810, when 
it could be put off no longer. The fight coming into Congress, the 
House defeated the bill by one vote. The vote in the Senate was a 
tie, and Clinton, the Vice-President, voted against renewal. Thus 
the bank ceased to exist in 1811. 

As was said above, three state banks existed at the time the 
National Bank was chartered: one in Massachusetts, founded in 
1784; another in New York, founded the same year; and the Bank 
of North America in Philadelphia, which became a state bank at 
the adoption of the Constitution. They made gold and silver the 
standard values and redeemed bills in specie, $3 in paper being 
redeemed in Massachusetts with $1 of specie. No one of these 
banks could lend more than $3000 to one man at a time, and all 
together they could not lend more than $5000 to one person. A loan 
could be made for sixty days upon merchandise, bullion, or other 
securities as collateral; or for thirty days on personal obligations 
with two securities and no renewal on any terms. Banking was at 
this time a profitable business; 8, 10, and even 15 per cent, being 
often declared as a dividend. 

When the charter of the National Bank expired, its circulation 
was called in, there being about $5,000,000 of it out. The effect 
of this contraction of the currency was lessened by the state bank 
issues. From 1811 to 1813, one hundred and twenty banks began 
business. They were scattered everywhere and added nearly 
$30,000,000 to the banking capital already existing. Yet the addi- 
tional amount Avas only imaginary and not in any sense real. In 
organizing a bank, the first installment was paid in, then the bank 
opened and made promissory notes for the balance of stock. As 
soon as this was known, paper money began to depreciate every- 
where except in Ncav England, Avhere bankers were more careful. 



180 INSTITUTIONAL HISTORY OF UNITED STATES. 

There they were liable to a line of 24 per cent, annually for not 
paying their notes, and consequently kept a reserve fund for that 
purpose. 

The Southern and Middle states' banks were without specie, and 
when Washington was captured in 1814 nearly all failed. All over 
the country, save in New England and one bank in Tennessee, the 
banks failed totally, not a cent remaining for any one, depositors 
or currency holders. The failures did not affect the gold and 
silver standards much, since the money was not based on anything 
but promises, or, if backed by specie, there was no specie in the 
bank. 

While the affairs were as stated above, there came a proposition 
to establish another national bank. Opposition to it by the state 
banks was strong. They were doing so well under the weakened 
condition of finance that they wanted no change. They did not 
promise to redeem their bills in specie, so they were not responsible 
for their issues, which depreciated heavily. This depreciated money 
was much desired by banks and exchanges, since they could issue 
money at par value and redeem it after it depreciated, at a much 
lower value. But the opposition was defeated. 

The new bank had a capital stock of f 35,000,000, one-fifth of 
which was taken by the government and the remainder by individ- 
nals. The government paid its subscription in specie or in 5 per 
cent, bonds, interest payable quarterly. The bank had the privi- 
lege of selling the bonds subscribed in any amount not exceeding 
$2,000,000 worth. The individual subscriptions to the bank were 
paid, one-fourth in specie and three-fourths in specie or United States 
bonds. Six per cent, bonds were taken at par; 3 percent., at ^Or) 
per hundred; and 7 percent., at $100.51 per hundred. The bank 
was chartered for twenty years, and had twenty-five directors. Five 
of these were appointed by the President of the United States with 
the consent of the Senate, and twenty were elected by the stock- 
holders. The directors elected a president for the bank annually. 
Only resident citizens of the United States and stockholders in the 
bank could be directors. It could issue its own money on the same 
principle that the bank of 1701 did. Congress, however, could 
change the amount of circulation for both banks if it wished. 

The bank of 1816 could sell United States bonds, but could not 
buy them, and could not charge more than G per cent, interest. It 
could not lend the United States more than $500,000, or a state more 



BANKING. 181 

than $50,000, without the consent of Congress. No note could be 
issued of less amount than five dollars, and all notes payable on 
demand in specie were legal tender. The bank served as a place 
of deposit for the revenues of the government, unless the Secre- 
tary of Treasury wished otherwise. No other national bank could 
be organized, but the main bank, located at Philadelphia, could 
organize sub-banks of discount and deposits. One million five 
hundred thousand dollars were paid the government by the bank 
for the charter. 

Two things were needed in the country in 1816, — a restoration of 
specie payment, and a money equally good anywhere in the United 
States. It was believed that the bank would satisfy these needs. 
In the restoration of specie payment there was also a desire to 
redeem in silver and gold those bills of credit that were not made 
redeemable in specie. This was a most gigantic task, since the 
banks from 1811 to 1816 had issued bills at any discount that would 
put them into circulation. In order to redeem them in specie, the 
following plans were carried out : (1) Congress in 1817 declared that 
only bank notes should circulate with a legal tender value; (2) when 
the government's money was to be taken out of the state banks, 
where it was deposited from 1811 to 1816, and put into the National 
Bank, the latter received the checks of the state banks on one another 
in payment of such deposits; thus many state banks transferred bad 
debts to the National Bank and saved themselves from bankruptcy; 
(3) if sums belonging to the National Bank still accumulated in the 
state banks after the first transfer of the jDublic money, and such 
amounts could be loaned on good security for sixty days, the National 
Bank was not to call for this money until it had discounted an equal 
amount of bills for banks not owing it; thus banks not owing the 
National Bank or government Avere able to secure something for their 
issues of money; (4) if the amount accumulated were not needed 
for lending to individuals, it was taken by the National Bank and 
loaned to state banks. 

By the National Bank thus accepting checks of one state bank 
on another, by it not collecting balances due it until certain dis- 
counts were made for other banks not owing the government, and 
by lending money to weak banks, it was proposed to establish specie 
payment, and the plans succeeded. Exchanges were also equalized. 
The circulating medium was now made nearly uniform over the 
entire country. According to a report made in 1830 by a committee 



182 INSTITUTIONAL HISTORY OF UNITED STATES. 

appointed for the purpose, "No country in the world had a more 
uniform currency nor one more convenient." 

The policy of Jackson towards the bank is well known and need 
not be reviewed. He claimed that the government's deposits were 
not safe in the bank and removed them to the state banks, and also 
vetoed the bill to recharter the bank. It then ceased as a national 
bank and became a state institution. For twenty years it had held 
the currency at par and made it uniform, and when it ceased, the 
history of finance from 1811 to 1816 repeated itself. Again the 
financial condition of the country was placed at the mercy of all 
men and all projects, and for twenty-five years after 1836, the cur- 
rency was under the control of irresponsible state banks and private 
corporations. 

When the National Bank was rechartered in 1816, the state banks 
continued business as usual. Though the government did not keep 
its deposits in them, yet it did not interfere seriously with tlieir 
affairs, and with tlie help of the National Bank they easily resumed 
specie payment. Some changes began to appear among tliem by 
1834. The Boston banks, in that year, agreed to accept the bills of 
country banks at the same value as they accepted their own. This 
put the entire currency of New England on an equality. To assist 
the Boston banks in exchanging the money of the country districts 
for their own, the Suffolk banks agreed, in 1825, to act as banks of 
settlement between the Boston banks and country banks. When 
the city banks wished to call in their notes, they could take the notes 
of the country banks and exchange them at a Suffolk bank at par 
for city money ; or the country banks could make the same kind of 
exchange for their money. To have a central place for these 
exchanges was very convenient and saved time and money, as with- 
out such a place each bank must have visited every other bank 
whose bills it held, and made the exchange individually. The Suf- 
folk system of banking thus made itself a clearing house. It was 
also a forerunner of our present national banking system, as it was 
an organization of banks accepting one another's notes at equal value, 
so that the bills of such banks had much more than local circulation. 

The Safety Fund Banking System was adopted in 1829, in New 
York. It was the principle of the banks belonging to this organiza- 
tion to pay into a fund deposited with the state treasurer an annual 
sum equal to one-half of 1 per cent, of the capital stock of each 
bank, until the deposit amounted to 3 per cent, of their capital. 



BANKING. 183 

This money stood as a fund to be used to redeem the notes of any 
bank in the organization if in a bankrupt condition. The plan was 
a success for several years ; but it chanced that ten of the banks, 
whose capital was $2,800,000, broke at one time, and the others of 
the organization could not redeem so much money, so the system was 
abandoned. 

Ohio adopted the Suffolk system in 1845. Its state bank had a 
capital of more than $4,000,000, and had several branches, all under 
the supervision of a board, which furnished the notes for circula- 
tion. The circulating notes were limited to an amount equal to 
twice the first $100,000 of the capital, one and one -half times the 
second $100,000, and one and one-fourth times the third $100,000 
or any part of that sum. Each branch had to deposit with the board 
of control 10 per cent, of the amount in circulation, to redeem the 
notes of a bankrupt bank. The deposit had to be of coin, or state 
and United States bonds. It was not a successful plan, however, 
since the fund did not usually redeem more than 50 to 75 per cent, 
of the circulation. 

The year 1838 was the beginning of the Free Banking System, 
similar to the one of the present time. It was first advocated in 
1827 by a professor of Columbia College. He held that three prin- 
ciples belonged to safe banking: (1) the banking business should be 
so arranged that any one, who desired and should meet the require- 
ments, could enter it; (2) one-tenth of the capital should be of such 
property as the stockholders desired, and nine-tenths should be in 
government bonds, to stand as security for the circulation; (3) each 
bill issued should bear on its face the amount of security, and the 
issue should never exceed the pledged stock. These three princi- 
ples were embodied in the banking system of several of the states, 
and finally were made the basis of the present national banking 
system. 

Indiana and Illinois established a banking system much like that 
of Ohio. In Indiana each branch had $160,000 capital, and all 
were liable for the losses of one. The banks could not issue notes 
of less denomination than $5. The directors furnished the bills 
for circulation, which were limited to twice the value of the capital 
stock. The state subscribed one-half the capital in bonds bearing 
5 per cent, interest. In 1837 specie payment was suspended, but 
was resumed in 1841. From that time the banks were successful 
during their chartered life. 



184 INSTITUTIONAL HISTORY OF UNITED STATES. 

Illinois had to learn by bitter experience the utter impossibility 
of giving value to things of no intrinsic worth. She declared in her 
constitution that no bank should be chartered except state banks and 
those then existing. In 1819 a bank was incorporated for twenty- 
five years, with a capital of .f4, 000, 000. It was never operated, 
and in 1821 another bank, owned by the state and managed by 
the legislature, was chartered for ten years with f 500,000 capital. 
It issued )S?300,000 to be loaned on mortgages for one year, and in 
amounts not greater than $1000 to any one individual. The bills 
bore 2 per cent, interest, and the borrower paid 6 per cent, on the 
loan and could renew on payment of 10 per cent, of the principal 
annually until the charter expired, when the remainder was due. 
The bills of the bank were legal tender for the taxes and public 
debts of the state. 

The first issue fell to seventy-five cents on the dollar and kept 
decreasing until it was worth but twenty-five cents on the dollar. 
One authority states that at one bank, a branch, two pieces of specie 
were received and kept as curiosities. The result of the system was 
deplorable in many ways, and certified the fallacy of legislative 
banking. Still the state did not learn its lesson well; for in 1835, 
a bank of $1,500,000 capital was established with the state as part- 
ner, which issued $2,000,000 worth of bonds to make up its share 
of the capital. The bank lent money regardless of security, and the 
result was that in a few years the state burned more than $3,000,000 
worth of bonds in the public square at Springfield as the easiest way 
to free itself from the partnership. It was easier and as profitable to 
burn its share of the stock as to try to collect the money due the bank. 

Such was state banking from 1836 to 18()3. The government 
distributed its money among the state banks for a few years after 
1833. The crisis of 1837 left the banks, government, and the people 
in a bankrupt condition. By 1811 the banks recovered from the 
crisis, and the states began to adopt the Free Banking System and 
to watch their bills more closely. But the crash of 1857 found the 
banks in a careless, weakened condition, and the curses and tears of 
men and women, who had lost their all, told tlie story again of the 
result of an insecure financial system. The government was on the 
verge of bankruptcy and money had no certain nor universal value. 
There were IGOl state banks in the country with more than ten thou- 
sand different kinds of bills having only local circulation. A great 
war, whose expenses would grow to $1,000,000 per day, was to be 



BANKING. 185 

fought, and the treasury was practically empty. It was in those 
dark days that men remembered the theory of the Columbian pro- 
fessor, in 1827, and gave to the United States the Free Banking 
System it enjoys to-day. 

The act authorizing the present National Banking System also 
authorized the issue of $300,000,000 in bank notes, which sum was 
to be 90 per cent, of the par value of United States bonds, deposited 
with the Treasury at Washington for redemption of these notes in 
cases of bankruptcy. This security, under the free banking law, 
has proved to be an ideal system with minimum losses to depositors 
and stockholders, and no losses on circulation. The bank note is as 
good in Maine as in California, and in the Dakotas as in Texas; 
what is more, it circulates at its face value. 

The law governing the present National Banking System has 
often been changed since 1863, but is clear and simple. As it is now, 
there is a comptroller of the currency appointed by the President of 
the United States by and with the consent of the Senate. He holds 
office for five years witli a salary of f 5000 per year, and must give 
bond for $100,000; and his deputy, for $50,000. Any number of 
persons, not fewer than five, may, with the consent of the comp- 
troller, enter into the banking business. The capital must be at 
least $50,000 in any city with fewer than 6000 persons; at least 
$100,000 in a place of fewer than 50,000 and more than 6000 per- 
sons; and at least $200,000 in a place of more than 50,000 people. 
The Secretary of Treasury must consent to the organization of a 
bank in a place of fewer than 6000 people. There must be at least 
five directors, one of whom shall be the president, and each must 
own at least ten shares of stock free of any claims. Each share- 
holder has one vote for each share held by him. A share is $100. 
A bank is organized to do business for twenty years, at the end of 
which time it may reorganize for another twenty years. 

Fifty per cent, of the capital stock must be paid up before the 
bank can begin business. The remainder of the stock must be paid 
in not more than five installments as frequently as once per month. 
There must be deposited in the Treasury at Washington, United 
States bonds to an amount equal to one-fourth the capital stock paid 
up, providing the capital is not more than $150,000; but if the 
capital be more than that sum, there must be at least $50,000 worth 
of bonds deposited. The bank then has the privilege of issuing 
bank notes to the extent of 90 per cent, of the market value of the 



186 INSTITUTIONAL HISTORY OF UNITED STATES. 

bonds, but not more than to the extent of 90 per cent, of their par 
value, nor more than 90 per cent, of its paid-up capital stock. 
Really but 85 per cent, of the bonds can be circulated in bank notes, 
since 5 per cent, must be deposited at Washington, for redeeming 
any notes that might be offered for redemption. 

If the bonds deposited in the Treasury at Washington should 
depreciate until their market value were less than the amount of 
bank notes issued on them, the comptroller must receive from the 
bank other United States bonds, or cash to the amount of the depre- 
ciation, to be held while the depreciation continues. A national 
bank cannot hold real estate except for its own use in business or 
that taken to secure a debt previously made. It must keep on hand 
25 per cent, of its deposits in large cities, and 15 per cent, of the 
same in small cities. A national tax of 1 per cent, is placed on a 
bank's circulation. A state tax is levied on the shares of the bank. 
To know the condition of national banks, the bank inspector may 
examine them as often as he chooses, and may close them if all is 
not right. 

The Clearing House System was organized in 1853, and is a sys- 
tem to assist the banks of a large city in making quick settlements 
Avith one another, and to give mutual protection. The system is 
not created by law, but out of the needs of banks, and every large 
city now has its clearing house located in some convenient part of 
the city, where clerks meet in the forenoon for the purpose of learn- 
ing the standing of the individual banks with all the others as to 
money due by one to the other. When each clerk learns what his 
bank owes to others, or what is due it from them, he reports tlie 
same to his bank and then returns to the clearing house in the 
afternoon to settle the difference. Thus there is a daily settlement 
made by the banks of a city with one anotlier, which is necessary 
with the great amount of business done, and two clerks can attend 
to all of it under the Clearing House System. If each bank had to 
send a clerk to every other bank to make a settlement, it would 
require a great number of clerks and a transfer of mucli money, 
Avhich would be expensive and dangerous. 



CHAPTER XVI. 

SLAVERY. 

Ancient Slavery — Middle Ages — Beginning of African Slavery — 
African CojMpany — Sentiment Against Slave-trade — Virginia — 
Rights of the Slave — New York — Massachusetts — New England 

— Marriage — Negro Intellect — Pennsylvania — Georgia — Revolu- 
tion — National Era — Slave-trade — Societies — Fugitive Slave Law 

— White Slavery — Quadroons — Indiana and Illinois — Siberia — 
Colonization Society — Free Soil — Garrison, etc. — Admission of 
States — Texas — California — Missouri Compromise — Cuba — Seces- 
sion — Civil War — Schools — Freeing of Slaves in Other Countries 

— Serfdom. 

THE slavery of the ancient world was very different from that 
of the modern period. It was just as degrading and had less 
humanity in it. The misfortunes of war and of life in general Avere 
the bases of ancient slavery, while color alone made men modern 
slaves. Greece had six bases for slavery: (1) birth, a child of a 
slave parent was a slave ; (2) purchase, free parents could sell their 
children into slavery ; (3) crime, debtors could be sold in slavery, 
and criminals could be punished in like manner ; (4) war, captives 
in war were made slaves; (5) kidnapping, people were stolen and 
sold into bondage; (6) commerce, persons were carried from one 
country to another and sold. Some slave markets disposed of 
10,000 slaves per day. Delos and Athens were both great markets. 
In Greece there were at least three slaves to one freeman, and some 
authorities give the proportion as being much greater. Slaves in 
Greece were fairly well treated except at Sparta, where the Helots 
were in horrible bondage. 

Slaves were very numerous in Rome. Her wars furnished them 
by the tens of thousands, many of whom were learned and able in 
literature, medicine, law, etc. They rose in rebellion on two differ- 
ent occasions, causing what are known as the Servile Wars. The 
Roman state had four ways of freeing slaves : (1) by adoption ; 

187 



188 INSTITUTIONAL HISTORY OF UNITED STATES. 

(2) by testament ; (3) by census ; (4) Ijy vindieta. liy adoption 
means that a freeman could adopt a slave and make him free; by 
testament, that the master by will might free the slave; by census, 
that the master could present the slave to the censor and have him 
inscribed as a citizen ; by vindieta, that the master could turn the 
slave around and speak " Uher esto " in the presence of the pnetor, 
and then strike him with a rod, thus making him free. Slaves 
who became free save by a process of law remained clients of 
their master and were protected by him, and in turn tlie client 
gave aid to the master, when necessary. These freedmen, or 
clients, became numerous and rose in importance until they Avere 
admitted to the Senate. Under the Empire, slaves were better 
protected, and freedmen secured greater privileges. Christianity, 
even in the second century, made its influence felt for the slave 
on the side of humanity. 

The barbarous invasions of Italy from the third century on to 
the fall of Rome tended to decrease the number of slaves and thereby 
to increase the advantages of their condition. Slaves, being scarce, 
were dear, and therefore were more kindly reared. From the same 
cause free labor became more popular. Again Rome instituted a 
system of labor which became almost a caste ; each man was forced 
to follow the trade or i)rofession of his father ; the state, by thus 
choosing a man's occupation, gradually lessened the difference be- 
tween the freeman and slave. 

A system of landholding was developed in the fourth century, 
which created a class called colon i cnUivafors, who belonged to the 
estate, from which they could not be removed. Their children were 
held to the same conditions ^ it was a system of seini-slaveiy. The 
coloniis was under the control of his master, l)ut was also allowed to 
own some property. 

Slavery passed gradually into servile conditions that were about 
half .slavish. The serfdom of feudalism was a development from 
the old Roman state. Throughout the Middle Ages the prominent 
servile condition was that of the man who was attached to his lands, . 
of which he could not dispose save by consent of the master. The 
serf was thus part of the land which was his to use but not to own 
in fee-simple. There were also slaves during the same time, but 
they became so through the misfortunes of war. 

The close of the Middle Ages ushered in tlie modern system of 
servitude. As serfdom disappeared, negro slavery began, and the 



SLAVERY. 189 

change was a losing one for coming humanity save in this fact : it 
was the man of the other color now in bondage, where before it was 
the man of our color and race. As America first lay uncovered to 
European sight and knowledge, the same people to whose cupidity 
and daring was due the credit of the great discovery originated an 
institution that was to bathe the fairest and bravest of the continent 
in blood and carnage. African slavery and the American continent 
linked their interests together ; from Hispaniola, where negro slavery 
was first introduced, to Appomattox, where its death-blow was given^ 
three hundred and sixty-three years, their interests were intertwined. 
Appomattox, the Waterloo of slavery, freed America from its awful 
curse, and by gigantic strides the quarter-century since has out- 
strijiped the preceding century. 

Ovando became governor of Hispaniola in 1502, and brought a 
number of negro slaves to that place with him. This was the begin- 
ning of African slave-trade in America. In 1510 Ferdinand of Spain 
sent a great many slaves to the same colony to work the mines. 
Columbus had tried to enslave the Indians before this, and had sent 
500 of them to Spain in 1494, to be sold as slaves, but Isabella 
sent them back to America. The Spaniards enslaved the natives 
of the islands in large numbers. Some authorities say that the 
populace was decreased from 1,000,000 to 60,000 by working the 
people in the mines. Charles V. of Spain granted a patent to a 
favorite, giving him the right to furnish 4000 negroes annually to 
the islands of the West Indies. This was the beginning of the 
systematic trading in slaves between Africa and America. 

John Hawkins was the first Englishman to engage in slave- 
trade. He brought 300 negroes to Hispaniola in 1502. For a long 
time the Spanish colonies received all the negroes that came to 
the New World. The year 1618 is given as the date of the 
introduction of slavery into British America. This was in Vir- 
ginia, which in 1790 had 200,000 slaves. Until 1690 slave-trade 
was limited to a few companies, but William and Mary at that 
time opened the trade to everybody. The African Company was 
a great monopoly in the business ; in 1713 it received the privilege 
of procuring 4800 negroes annually for the Spanish colonies. 
Because of the Line of Demarcation, Spain could not secure 
negroes from the African coast so conveniently and had to depend 
on foreign trade. The African Company was the principal source 
of supj)ly. It brought 140,000 negroes to America between 1680 



190 INSTITUTIONAL HISTORY OF UNITED STATES. 

and 1700. By 1789 more than 600,000 slaves were brought to 
Jamaica alone. It is estimated that the total importation of slaves 
before the National Period was 2,130,000. Just before the Revolu- 
tion there were one hundred and ninety-two ships engaged in the 
traffic with the British ports alone ; these carried about 50,000 
negroes. Trade decreased during the Revolution, but immediately 
revived at its close. 

A sentiment against slave-trade was felt in the European coun- 
tries about this time. Denmark abolished the foreign trade in 1802. 
England followed in 1808 ; and Napoleon, during the Hundred 
Days. United States came next, January 1, 1808. Sweden closed 
her trade in 1813; Holland, in 1814; Spain, in 1820; Brazil, in 
1830 ; and Portugal, in 1836. In the Treaty of Ghent, 1814, United 
States and England bound themselves to extinguish the traffic. France 
and England made a similar agreement in 1833. The South Ameri- 
can states generally abolished the trade on gaining their indepen- 
dence. Thus, by 1835, there was scarcely any slave trading legalized 
in the world, but there was much smuggling of negroes in spite of 
all the care used to prevent it. 

After the trade was abolished, it was the next duty to prohibit 
the holding of slaves. Mexico did this in 1829, and England in 
1833 ; by 1838, the latter and her colonies held no slaves. Prance 
freed the slave in 1848. Portugal passed an act in 1858, providing 
for the freeing of the negro in twenty years. Holland emancipated 
her slaves in 1803. 

As this chapter is chiefly concerned with slavery in the United 
States, the remarks so far have been made to show the condition of 
the world on the slavery question, that the student may make some 
comparisons. This country suifered the greatest evils of this curse 
on humanity. While other countries quietly emancipated their 
slaves, it took millions of money and lives, and awful suffering, to 
do it in the United States. 

Virginia is the '' Mother of Presidents," and it may also be 
called the mother of slavery ; but it became so through a humane 
act. In August, 1618, fourteen negroes were taken by the colony of 
Virginia in exchange for food given to starving sailors who had 
landed on Virginia shores. It was an era in which slavery existed 
all over the civilized Avorld. Men and women were stolen and sold 
without regard to color. It is no wonder then that it took firm hold 
of society in the New World, though for a time it grew slowly. In 



SLAVERY. 191 

1622 there were but twenty -two slaves in Virginia, and by 1648 
there were only 300 negroes among 15,000 inhabitants. 

But the trading worki, always on the lookout for an enterprise 
that offers wealth, found out at last that Virginia, with her climate, 
soil, and products, would furnish a good market for the sale of 
negroes ; and the outlying districts of Africa, into which the weak 
tribes of natives were pushed by the strong, furnished an easy source 
for securing cargoes of these people. As negro slavery increased, 
the people began to draAV lines of distinction between the white 
slaves and black. In 1639 the first law of that kind was passed in 
Virginia. All persons, except negroes, had to procure arms and 
ammunition, or be subject to fine. In 1662 the law recognized slavery 
as an institution by declaring that the children of slave mothers 
should be slaves. In 1670 a law was passed making a distinction 
between the Indian and negro. It was legally affirmed that " All 
slaves coming by land shall serve until they are thirty years old, if 
boys and girls when captured, but if men and women they shall 
serve twelve years ; but all slaves coming by sea shall serve for life." 
In this early law one sees the effort to distinguish between the 
Indian and the negro, as the latter could come only by sea, and the 
former only by land. However, in 1682, the law was repealed and 
the Indian was placed on the same footing with the negro. In 1705 
a law was passed declaring the negro, mulatto, and Indian slave to 
be real estate. Before that time they had been considered as chat- 
tels. In 1751 the king repealed the law, and the slave became a 
chattel again, though much against the will of the Virginia planter. 

A duty was laid on each slave imported. The occasion for im- 
posing this tax was as follows : The government buildings at James- 
town were destroyed by fire in 1699, and the Assembly passed an 
act fixing a duty on " servants and slaves imported," fifteen shil- 
lings on the servants and twenty on the slaves. The duty was to 
go towards rebuilding the Capitol. When that was completed, the 
people could not easily give up the revenue and the system was 
continued. It finally became such a burden to the planter that 
the duty was limited by law in 1760, but the law was rej^ealed and 
the duty raised in 1772. The different laws mentioned above 
are the main ones only, that were passed by the Virginia Assembly 
between 1619 and 1775. There was nowhere any attempt made by 
the people to rid themselves of the system, but, on the other hand, 
there was an earnest effort to secure from the traffic <jreat wealth. 



192 INSTITUTIONAL HISTORY OF UNITED STATES. 

The negro slave had no political, military, nor personal rights. 
He dared not carry arms, and was debarred from holding any office 
of any nature. He was not allowed to leave the plantation without 
a written certificate. If he dared lift his hand against a white man, 
he was punished by thirty lashes, and if he dared to resist when 
being punished, he could be killed. He dared not own nor trade any 
article ; what seemingly was a distinction was given him by a law 
passed in 1732, by which he was allowed to serve as a witness on the 
trial of another slave. On a criminal charge he could be found 
guilty by one witness and without a jury. 

There were a few free negroes in Virginia during the Colonial 
Period, but these were not allowed many more rights than those in 
bondage. A negro became free only for some meritorious act. The 
governor and council always declared whether or not the act should 
give the negro his freedom. A man dared not free his own slaves. 
A law was made in 1G99, forcing the negro to leave the colony within 
six months after he was made free. In 1723 an act was passed pre- 
venting free negroes from voting, but all free negroes, male and female, 
had to pay taxes. They were enlisted in the militia, but were not 
permitted to bear arms. Intermarrying was prohibited. It was 
thus that the negro lived in Virginia. By the time of the Revolu- 
tion there were more than 100,000 slaves in the colony. Slavery 
had become a domestic institution with its roots deep in the founda- 
tions of the political, religious, and social life of the people. It 
was an organized part of all these elements, and stood as the 
"Black riague " of American society, an awful problem for an un- 
certain solution. 

:NEW YORK. 

During the Dutch rule in New York, slavery filled no great i-)lace 
in the social state, though slaves were numerous. The West India 
Company obligated itself to furnish as many negro slaves as it could, 
and its ability was not greatly limited. Slaves were freed either 
for merit or through humane feelings, though the children of freed 
parents, l)orn or unborn at the time of freedom, were held as slaves. 
This latter fact, it is pleasant to think, aroused the indignation of 
many of the best people in the colony. Financially the New York 
colony was a poor investment for the West India Company, and to 
increase its resoiirces a large mnnber of negroes were im])orted. 
The Hollander learned to look upon the negro as so much chattel 



SLAVERY. 193 

property, good for the market, or for the field. Generally, however, 
the Dutch treated the negro well, and made no very stringent laws 
against him. Slaves married, farmed lands on the shares, and 
secured a limited education if they so desired. But conditions 
changed in 16G4; New Amsterdam became New York, and under 
the English, slavery became more recognized by law, and, of course, 
more subject to legislation. A law was made in 1684 legalizing the 
institution. In 1702 Queen Anne directed the people as follows : 
"Take especial care, that God Almighty be devoutly and duly 
served, and the Royal African Company of England take especial 
care that the province may have a constant and sufficient supply of 
merchantable negroes at moderate rates." In the same year acts 
were passed making it imlawf ul to trade with negro slaves, for more 
than three slaves to meet together, and for a slave to strike a free- 
man. 

The question of baptizing the slaves was an important one in the 
colony. A man belonging to the church was considered a freeman ; 
to baptize the slave, it was said, was bringing him into the church 
and thus making him a freeman. Finally a law was passed enacting 
that the baptizing of a slave should not make him free. Thus the 
doors of the church were open to the negro, but he must kneel in 
bonds before his God. He was allowed to throw off the devil's 
chains, but he must keep on the Christian's. Freeman or slave, the 
negro in New York had little or no privileges. He knew no family 
relationship. The male and female lived together by common con- 
sent, and had no property and no schools. They dared not strike a 
Christian or Jew, and could not testify in the courts. In life they 
were trodden upon and in death scarcely buried. 

The greatest sensation of the eighteenth century, in the New 
World, was the Negro Plot in 1741. It is an affair in which it is 
probably true, that the truth does not exist in history. The accu- 
racy of the story depends upon the records of a historian who was 
prejudiced and consequently false. There were at this time about 
10,000 whites and 2000 blacks in New York City. Following 
close upon one another, several fires occurred, most of which 
came from natural causes, and none of which could be traced 
to the negroes. Several negroes had been taken from a Spanish 
ship and sold into slavery in spite of the fact that they were free 
citizens of another country. Suspicion early pointed towards these 
persons, and it needed but a start to condemn all. On the evidence 
o 



194 INSTITUTIONAL HISTORY OF UNITED STATES. 

of a Miss Mary Burton, an inmate of a questionable resort, who 
could remember nothing worthy of note until a reward of one hun- 
dred pounds was offered her, three persons were indicted for con- 
spiring to burn the city of New York, and murder all the inhabitants 
as they fled from their homes. 

Still the fires went on ; there were seven while the trial of the 
three supposed conspirators was being held, for which two negroes 
Avere burned at the stake. Then a woman came forward and con- 
fessed to all the plot, implicating several negroes. The accusations 
were very loose from a legal standpoint, but the excitement was 
high and necessity demanded that something be done. Two of the 
negroes were hung claiming their innocence. The plot became 
thicker all the time. By the authorities offering pardon to those 
who would confess, they caused the ignorant slaves, whenever they 
were implicated, to confess the whole affair. On the 19th of June 
the lieutenant-governor issued a general proclamation of freedom for 
all who woidd "confess and discover" before J\\]j 1. Then the 
judges could not try the cases fast enough. There were scores of 
confessions and hundreds of people were implicated, until finally 
persons were accused who stood in the first rank of society and 
could not possibly be guilty ; then the " reign of terror " ceased. 
One hundred and fifty-four negroes had been cast into prison ; four- 
teen were burned ; eighteen, hanged ; seventy-one, transported ; and 
the remainder, pardoned. Twenty-four whites were arrested, four 
of whom were executed, making thirty-six executions and seventy- 
one transportations, all because one hundred pounds in money made 
a young girl of very questionable character remember a plot that 
never was planned. It was a tragedy founded on ignorance and 
wrong, Shakespearean in its cruelty and justification. 

MASSACHUSETTS. 

The negro had no place in the sympathy or history of the Puritan. 
We have no very reliable early records of slavery in New Englaml. 
There is an account of some Indians being much frightened on 
meeting a negro slave in 1633, who was lost in the forest. They 
thought he was the devil. This shows us that there were slaves in 
the colony very early, and no doubt many of them. There was an 
effort made to enslave the Fequod Indians, but they Avould not suffer 
the indignity, and the settlers sent them off to the Bermudas, where 



SLAVERY. 195 

they traded them for negroes who could be made to work. This 
work began in 1637 and continued some time. 

It is certain that slavery became a recognized and established 
institution by 1639. Its growth for a half-century was not at all 
rapid. In 1676 there were only 200 slaves in Massachusetts, but 
by 1700 the number had increased greatly. For ten years about fifty 
skives were imported annually. In 1708 there were 550 negroes in 
the colony, and in 1720 there were 2000 ; by 1750 there were 1541 
negroes in Boston alone, and the entire number in the colony was 
nearly 6000. Taxes were laid on imported negroes. The slaves 
were rated as chattel property along with horses and hogs, and 
while history is partially neglectful in her story of slavery in Massa- 
chusetts, sufficient evidence is at hand to warrant the conclusion 
that it was a welcome and much-used institution. 

A little incident is here given showing the standing of the slave 
in Boston. In a newspaper in 1728 there appeared this notice : 
"Two very likely negro girls. Enquire two doors from the Brick 
meeting-house in Middle Street, at which place is to be sold women's 
stays, children's good callamanco stiffened-boddy'd coats, and chil- 
dren's stays of all sorts, and women's hoop-coats, all at very reason- 
able rates." Here the slave was of so little importance that she 
was sold along with second-hand property in an old junk-shop. 
Again, there was another announcement that "a likely Negro 
woman about nineteen years old and a child about six months old 
would be sold either together or apart." Massachusetts was even 
more cruel in her usage of the slave than Virginia. The Puritan 
would not allow the slave, under any condition, to enter the church 
or be baptized. Marriage among slaves was not prohibited, nor was 
it encouraged, and the practice of tearing families apart and selling 
them, and giving negro babies away, " like puppies," as soon as they 
were weaned, all tended to destroy nuptial ideas. 

The following is a copy of a Massachusetts marriage license for 
the negro : — 

" You, Bob, do now, in ye Presence of God and these Witnesses, 
Take Sally to be your wife ; 

*' Promising, that so far as shall be consistent with ye Relation 
which you noAv Sustain as a servant, you will Perform ye Part of an 
Husband towards her; And in particular, as you shall have ye 
Opportunity and Ability, yo\i will take proper Care of her in Sick- 
ness and Health, in Prosperity and Adversity ; 



19G INSTITUTIONAL HISTORY OF UNITED STATES. 

" And that you will be True and Faithful to her, and will Cleave 
to her only, so long as God, in his Providence, shall continue your 
and her abode in Such Place (or Places) as that you can conven- 
iently come together. — Do you thus Promise ? 

"You, Sally, do now, in ye Presence of God, and these Wit- 
nesses, Take Bob to be your husband ; 

"Promising, that so far as your present llelation as a Servant 
shall admit, you will Perform the Part of a Wife towards him : and 
in particular, 

"You Promise that you will Love him; And that as you shall 
have the Opportunity and Ability, you Avill take a proper Care of 
him in Sickness and Health ; in Prosperity and Adversity : 

" And you will cleave to him only, so long as God, in his Provi- 
dence, shall continue his and your Abode in such Place (or Places) 
as that you can come together. — Do you thus Promise? I then, 
agreeable to your Request, and with ye Consent of your Masters 
and Mistresses, do Declare that you have License given you to 
be conversant and familiar together as Husband and Wife, so 
long as God shall continue your Places of Abode as aforesaid ; And 
so long as you shall behave yourselves as it becometh servants to 
doe : 

" For you must both of you bear in mind that you remain still, as 
really and truly as ever, your Master's Property, and therefore it 
will be justly expected, both by God and Man, that you behave and 
conduct yourselves as 0])edient and Faithful Servants towards your 
respective Masters and Mistresses for the Time being: 

" And finally, I exhort and Charge you to beware lest you give 
place to the Devil, so as to take occasion from the license now given 
you, to be lifted up with Pride, and therel)y fall under the Displeas- 
ure, not of Man only, but of God also; for it is written, that God 
resisteth the I'roud biit giveth Grace to the humble. 

" I shall now conclude with Prayer for you, that you may become 
good Christians, and that you may be enabled to conduct as such ; 
and in particular, that you may have Grace to behave suitably 
towards each Other, as also dutifully towards your Masters and 
Mistresses, Not with Eye Service as Men pleasers, but ye Servants 
of Christ doing ye Will of God from ye heart, &c." 

When a negro woman was courted by the slave of another owner, 
the woman was usually sold to the owner of the man under bill of 
sale, like the following : — , 



SLAVERY. 197 

Whereas, of , aforesaid negro mau laborer, pro- 
poses marriage to Margaret, tlie negro woman servant of said 
, of , now to the intent that the said intended mar- 
riage may take effect and that the said may enjoy the 

said withont any interruption, etc., she is duly sold, with her 

apparel, for pounds. 

There were some occasional instances when some negro rose to 
prominence, in spite of his environment. In the literary field a 
negro woman, Phillis Wheatley, called the African Poetess, rose to 
great prominence. She was much lionized in the colony and in 
England. From almost a state of nudity in a slave market, from 
which she was taken by a benefactor and trained, she rose to be for 
a time the most noted poet of her day. Other instances could be 
given of such phenomenal ability under colonial rule. Then, as 
now, there were noble minds ready to appreciate and assist genius 
wherever found. These frequent outbursts of feeling and thought 
on the part of the negro stimulated him to demand more rights 
as a man, and when the Revolution was impending, the colonists 
were anxious as to what the negro would do in the coming struggle. 
To hold him to America, many rights were given him that hereto- 
fore he had not held. There was a strong feeling among the people 
that they were not quite consistent in fighting for their own free- 
dom and at the same time holding their fellow-men in bondage. 
At this time it would have been comparatively easy to free negro 
slaves, had there been a leader, but other matters absorbed the 
minds of the people, and the day of grace passed. Slavery took a 
new hold, and a million lives were lost before it ceased to exist. 

For twenty-five years just preceding the Eevolution there was 
much agitation in Massachusetts against slavery. Bills forbidding 
it were even passed in the assemblies, but the governors refused to 
sign them. The negroes took the matter into their own hands and 
sued for their liberty in the courts, sometimes gaining it. They had 
such strong helpers as Eliot, Sewall, and Otis, and seemed able them- 
selves to fight for their liberty, not in a rebellious, mob-like manner, 
but in a lawful way. In June, 1774, a bill passed both houses in 
Massachusetts freeing the negro and stopping the importation, but 
Governor Gage refused to sign it and the last attempt made by the 
colony to abolish slavery was buried under an English governor's veto. 

Two colonies yet remain of peculiar interest in a study of slavery 
in the United States, — Pennsylvania and Georgia, the former the 



198 INSTITUTIONAL HISTORY OF UNITED STATES. 

home of the Quakers and the latter the colony in which slavery was 
forbidden. 

PENNSYLVANIA. 

A Quaker of Pennsylvania drew up the first memorial in America 
against slavery. It was adopted by the Germantown Friends and 
sent to the yearly meeting at Philadelphia in 1688. This was the 
first time any religious body had taken up the cause of the negro in 
America. The yearly meeting voted it " not proper to give a posi- 
tive judgment in the case," but it redeemed itself in 1096 by voting 
against the further importation of slaves. A bill passed the Assembly 
in 1712, emancipating the slaves, but the Crown repealed it, and it 
also repealed bills in 1714 and 1716, forbidding their importation. 
To have stopped the trade would have been destroying a great source 
of revenue for the English seamen. 



GEORGIA. 

The trustees of Georgia forbade slavery during the first twenty 
years of the colony's history. The people, however, very much de- 
sired it. The action of Oglethorpe and his associates in prohibiting 
it was probably not wholly a humane act, since Oglethorpe himself 
had a plantation in South Carolina worked by negro slaves whom he 
owned. Dr. Stevens, who stands as the most correct historian of 
Georgia, makes the statement that the action of the trustees in pro- 
hibiting slavery was based on political and prudential reasons rather 
than on humane ones. Another authority says that the introduction 
of slaves into Georgia was. prohibited because it was to the interest 
of England that it should be. England intended Georgia to be a 
defense for the Carolinas against the Spaniards in Florida. For this 
purpose white men alone were considered suitable, consequently ne- 
groes were prohibited. Again Stevens' " History of Georgia " states 
that slavery was prohibited, first, because of the expense, the colo- 
nists being too poor to buy them ; second, because slavery would 
promote idleness; third, because the settlers could hold but fifty 
acres of land each and did not need much help. It seems that 
Georgia was a non-slave colony because it was to her interest to be. 
The people favored slavery very much, and their influence, with that 
of the Whitefields and Parliament, together with the impoverished 
condition of the colony, supposed to have been caused by the lack of 



SLAVERY. 199 

slaves, broke down the opposition of the trustees, and slaves were 
admitted to the last American colony in 1749. 

When the Eevolution began, there were more than 500,000 slaves 
in the colonies. Virginia had the most, 165,000, and Avas followed 
closely by South Carolina with 110,000. New Hampshire had but 
029, standing lowest in numbers. The great question now was, 
Where will these people be in the coming fight ? Both England and 
the colonies bid for their help. A resolution passed the Continental 
Congress, in 1774, that slave-trade should wholly cease after Decem- 
ber of that year. The representatives of twelve colonies signed it, 
Georgia's delegation not being present. This resolution was adopted 
also by all the Southern colonies in their state conventions. Virginia 
was a sincere leader in the movement. The Northern colonies did 
not give it much attention, as they had fewer slaves and treated them 
better than the South. The people also considered it dangerous to 
agitate the question while their own independence was hanging in 
the balance. 

The famous Boston Massacre, that opened up the great American 
tragedy of the century, showed what part the negro was destined to 
play in the conflict. The little band of patriots, who were goaded 
to desperation by the English occupying their homes and city, 
and who attacked the British soldiers, were led by a negro named 
Attucks, who was killed. He was the first martyr to American 
independence. In the same affray fell three white men, and all were 
buried in one grave, over which was placed this inscription: — 

" Long as in Freedom's cause the wise contend, 
Dear to our country shall your fame extend, 
While to the world the lettered stone shall tell, 
"Where Paid well, Attucks, Gray, and Maverick fell." 

The free negroes in all the Northern colonies responded to the 
call to arms. Rhode Island had one black regiment. In the other 
colonies the negroes and whites were formed into the same regi- 
ments. Slaves Avere sent into the War, and their liberty and fifty 
dollars given them. At first there was strong opposition to both 
the free negro and the slave enlisting, some colonies even for- 
bidding it; but necessity forced the opposition to cease, and the 
records of the War give numerous examples of negro exploits rank- 
ing with the bravest. Negro bravery was repaid in the Treaty of 
1783 by placing the negro alongside horses and cows in importance 



200 INSTITUTIONAL HISTORY OF UNITED STATES. 

and position. Even during the war the buyer and seller of human 
souls was busy at his trade, and at the close of the struggle hundreds 
of thousands of blacks were hurled more deeply into slavery than 
ever before. 

The beginning of the National Era witnessed the slave question 
a very important one, and it was also a period of much sentiment 
towards freedom for the negro. But the Constitution provided that 
the importation of slaves should not be prohibited before 1808, and 
that three-fifths of the slave population should be counted for repre- 
sentation. The cruelty of the negro traffic on the seas also attracted 
wide attention. There was strong sentiment against the practice, as 
well there should have been, for nothing in the annals of history 
was more inhuman than foreign slave-trade about 1800. 

The sin of holding slaves belonged to the South ; but the greatest sin 
in slavery — that of furnishing the demand — belonged to the North 
and England, both wrapping themselves within their sainted robes 
and pointing the finger of scorn and hatred towards the slave-holder. 
Boston, Salem, Providence, Newport, etc., were all great ports for 
slaves. There was a threefold trading system carried on. The ships 
brought molasses from Jamaica to New England and traded it for 
rum, the rum was taken to Africa and traded for negroes, and the 
negroes were brought to America and sold. The negroes were bought, 
kidnaped, or secured in any way possible, and placed in the hold of 
the vessel, where every cruelty was practiced on them. By means 
of the thumbscrews, chains, pistol, cat-o'-nine-tails, and rope, life was 
made miserable. Each negro man was allowed a space on the floor 
of the ship, six feet long and sixteen inches wide for a bed. Boys 
were allowed only five feet by fourteen inches ; and women, five feet 
ten inches by sixteen inches. At times the hatches were fastened 
down and five hundred negroes or more would live in the hold with- 
out any ventilation or light. It was expected that 25 per cent, of 
the persons would die on the voyage. 

These negroes were as barbarous and uncivilized as any that could 
be found in Africa, and in that condition were brought to America and 
sold. Their treatment, both by law and man, grew worse as time went 
on. The older the system became, the more heartless it grew, until 
no rights — physical, moral, or intellectual — belonged to the slave. 

Societies for the pi'evention of slavery were UTimerous. The 
first one was organized in Pennsylvania. The Quakers took steps 
to prohibit slave-trade as early as 1695, and by 174o means were 



SLAVERY. 201 

provided to force all Quakers to cease buying slaves, though many- 
had already done so. Such was the opposition by 1775 that thou- 
sands of freed negroes lived in Pennsylvania, but the practice of 
stealing and selling these people into slavery again became so great 
that arrangements were made for protecting them. A society, call- 
ing itself "The Society for the Relief of Free Negroes held in 
Bondage," was organized five days before the battle of Lexington ; 
the War beginning soon afterwards, not much was done until after 
it was over. The society began work in earnest in 1784, when the 
Methodists ordered the members of that church to free their slaves. 
Within the next ten years Rhode Island, Connecticut, New Jersey, 
Xew York, Maryland, Virginia, and Pennsylvania had such societies ; 
New Hampshire freed her slaves ; Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and 
Connecticut provided for the gradual abolition of slavery ; Virginia 
and Maryland revised their statutes ; and Congress passed the Ordi- 
nance of 1787. Massachusetts had no law against slavery, but the 
system had a natural death there. 

While slavery was decreasing in the North, in the South the direct 
opposite was taking place, and to pacify that section, the Fugitive 
Slave Law, the first in our history, was passed in 1793. This law, 
in all its inhumanity and in spite of its being the most unjust law 
ever made by the government, remained in force fifty-seven years. 
Not only were escaped slaves caught and taken back into servitude, 
but nowhere in the country was a free negro safe. Kidnapers were 
capturing negroes in the Northern states and selling them in the 
South. In North Carolina one hundred and thirty-four slaves were 
bought and freed by the " Society of Friends," and the state legis- 
lature empowered the people by law to catch and sell them again 
into slavery. The matter came before Congress, but nothing was 
done. All the horrors of the law remained and were strongly 
upheld by gentlemen in Congress. 

The white slave-trade Avas a profitable one in 1800 ; such slaves 
were called redemptioners or indentured servants. There were 
many persons in Europe who would sell themselves to a ship cap- 
tain for passage to America. The captain, on landing in America, 
would sell such persons for a term of years, from four to eight, and 
thus secure his pay for bringing them over. At the close of this 
service, during which the servant had been almost as much a slave 
as tlie negro, two suits of clothes, or ten pounds in currency, a hoe, 
and an axe were cjiven liim. If he were absent from work without 



202 INSTITUTIONAL HISTORY OF UNITED STATES. 

liis master's leave, five clays were added to his time. If he married 
without permission, an additional year's service was required of him. 
No one dared trade, buy, sell, or give assistance to him in any way 
under penalty, except through permission of the master. A matured 
servant of this class sold for twenty pounds. Children brought from 
eight to ten pounds. The master had to give the child at least a 
fourth of a day in school, and had to teach it some trade. This 
form of slavery had its origin in the Colonial Period and lasted 
some twenty-five years afterwards. Persons who persuaded people 
to become indentured servants or bond-servants, even sometimes 
kidnaping them, were called crimps or spirits, and the system was 
known as trepanning. Men who drove these servants about the 
country to sell them were called soul-drivers. Many of the first 
settlers in the colonies were called tenants, who paid rent to the 
owners of the land, and if they failed to pay they could be severely 
punished. Virginia, Maryland, and New York were largely farmed 
by tenants. 

There was still another class whose lot was wretched, those beings 
whose white blood drew them up higher than the negro, and whose 
negro blood drew them down beneath the white, — the quadroons. It 
was the fate of the women of that class to become the mistresses of 
the wealthy white men of New Orleans. Law forbade the marriage 
of the two classes, but, strange to say, the women held a recognized 
])osition in society. They were not abandoned women, their station 
being considered an honorable one. The white men had to be intro- 
duced to them, and had to make their engagements with the full 
approval of the mothers of the quadroons. While the law forbade 
their marriage, instinct and moral force kept them true to vows made 
outside such bonds. This form of union was generally kept by the 
white men also. The women could not enter the society of- the white 
women, but they had an elegant and refined society of their own, to 
which the wealthy class of men were admitted. The theater was 
open three nights per week to them, one of Avliich was always Sun- 
day night; the others were announced by the beating of the drum. 
Thus it was that the least stain of negro blood damned the existence, 
yea, the very souls of the unfortunate beings, however pure, beautiful, 
or refined they were. 

After the T'ugitive Slave Act of 179.3, and the supi)ression of for- 
eign slave-trade in 1808, sentiment against slavery quickly died out. 
The cotton-gin increased the demand for slaves so much that the nat- 



SLAVERY. 203 

ural and domestic trade could not supply it, and so a system of smug- 
gling sprang up. ISTowhere on the soil of the new country did the 
black man have a friend at this time save in the simple and honest 
Quaker. He petitioned, he helped, he did all he could, but the fruit 
of his work was far in the future. The slave-trade even went on 
openly, and negroes direct from Africa were seen on the auction 
blocks of all the Southern ports. Indeed, the North and England 
were so persistent in their greed that North Carolina petitioned Con- 
gress to assist in keeping out the slaves. 

AVhen Indiana and Illinois were organized into territories, a hot 
debate arose over slavery. The Ordinance of 1787 forbade it in that 
territory, but the men in favor of slavery finally secured an inden- 
tured law that held the slave for a certain number of years, depend- 
ing upon his age on entering the territory. This practically intro- 
duced slavery into these states. The laAv was repealed in 1810, but 
the system had a start, and was not rooted out for some years after- 
wards. 

In 1817 the Bible Society established a school for blacks. Out 
of this movement grew the Colonization Society which founded 
Liberia, a home for the freed negro. It extends about three hun- 
dred miles along the west coast of Africa. There are six colonies, 
the inhabitants of which are mostly from the United States. The 
country was bought originally from native chiefs, who not only sold 
the land, but also formed friendly alliances with the settlements. 
The district was heavily populated by natives. 

The first emigrants went from America in March, 1820, number- 
ing eighty-six, and founded Monrovia in January, 1822. They suf- 
fered all the hardships of a new colony in a new country. Liberia 
became an important missionary republic. The natives numbered 
over 200,000, and they usually readily accepted the teaching of 
the freed negroes. Churches took advantage of the opportunity 
to send preachers and missionaries to the colony. The Methodist 
Church spent thousands of dollars yearly in the work. 

Religion, education, and free government seem to be on a sure 
footing in Liberia. There are now more than 3000 church-members 
in the country, and about 2000 children are attending day school. 
The government is independent and republican, managed wholly by 
negroes. Counting the natives and the negroes from other countries, 
there are now more than 500,000 people in the colony, the natives 
numbering three to one. They have good laws, a thriving occupa- 



204 INSTITUTIONAL HISTORY OF UNITED STATES. 

tion, and a good army and navy. Trade is the chief employment. 
American and European manufactured articles are traded for ivory, 
palm oil, and camwood. Agricultiire is not so extensively carried 
on. Sweet potatoes, cassava, and plantain are the main products 
of the soil. Liberia secured her first constitution in 1825, which 
remained in force until 1836. A Legislative Council was foymed in 
1<S39, and the constitution was amended. In 1847 she declared her 
independence. Before this the United States held a protectorate 
over the colony. The Civil War ended the necessity of a home for 
freed negroes, but the purpose and success of Liberia give it the right 
to exist forever, and its present condition would seem to say that 
such is its destiny. 

In 1820 began the struggle in America for free soil. Slavery was 
looked upon as established too firmly to be uprooted in its then pres- 
ent boundaries, so from this time until the Civil War the great ques- 
tion was to keep it out of territories and new states. The fight grew 
more bitter each year. The John the Baptist and the Apostle Paul 
of slavery was Benjamin Lundy, a Quaker, who traveled over the coun- 
try, and edited the first antislave newspaper. The Genius of Universal 
Emancipation. In Vermont there was a paper edited, antislavery 
in its tone, called The Journal of the Times. The editor of this paper 
was William Lloyd Garrison, the leader of emancipation. Garrison 
was a Baptist, which was the first society of any nature to demand 
freedom of conscience and maintain it as a principle. The Quaker, 
Lundy, went to Vermont to meet the Baptist, Garrison, and there, 
the one meek and simple, the other fiery and bold, met and shook 
hands for the first time. The day of its death was far off yet, but 
slavery from that hour was doomed. 

Garrison from this on became an untiring, unceasing worker in 
the field ; lecturing, editing the Liberator, organizing and Avorking 
in every w^ay, he never rested for thirty-five years, and then only 
when every slave in America was free. His life was the epitome of 
greatness. In 1832 he and eleven others organized the American 
Antislavery Society, and in four years there Avere 250 such societies 
in thirteen states, and by 1838 there were 1006. 

The system known as the " Underground Railroad " Avas organ- 
ized about 1852. It Avas in a sense a secret organization Avhose pur- 
pose it AA%as to oppose the Fugitive Slave Act of 1793. The men 
managing the system Avcre located from Kentucky to Canada. Tliey 
fed and defended the slave, and assisted him to freedom on the 



SLAVERY. 205 

Canadian land. Conductor No. 1 would assist the escaping slave to 
No. 2, he to No. 3, and so on until the slave was on free soil. This 
system was the safety valve of slavery. Without it the horror of 
bloodshed would have added itself to that of slavery. 

The key to almost every legislation of importance from 1820 to 
18G0 was, directly or indirectly, slavery. The question of slave and 
free territory divided the North from the South. Whenever the 
North offered a free state for admission, the South looked about for 
a slave state, and vice versd. They Avere able to keep even until 
Missouri asked for admission, when it seemed that there would be no 
free state to balance it. Massachusetts agreed to give to the Union 
its northern district, called Maine, which of course was free territory. 
This made the two sections even again, but the North still fought 
for Missouri, which was finally admitted under the Missouri Com- 
promise, and became a slave state ; but the territory north of '3G° 30' 
north latitude and west of the Mississippi River was to be forever 
free. Slavery was not prohibited in Oregon, however, until 1846. 

The next fight for territory was over Texas, which was formed as 
one of the members of the Mexican Confederation in 1824. Slavery 
existed in the territory, but its constitution provided for the grad- 
ual extinction, and the importation of slaves was prohibited. The 
South saw in Texas a future territory for slavery, and went there 
with her slaves in open violation of its constitution. Santa Anna, 
the president of Mexico, attempted to centralize the government, 
and Texas rebelled, gained her independence, and formed a new con- 
stitution, sanctioning slavery. Now began private schemes for its 
annexation to United States. Tyler carried on secret negotiations, 
and both houses passed a bill favoring annexation, in 1845, in 
which year, December 29, Texas became one of the states of the 
Union. The Mexican War followed, which was not of particular 
credit to United States, but by which and by purchase she gained a 
vast territory which mostly became free. The greatest excitement 
arose over the admission of California, which was a part of the pur- 
chased territory. A strong element in holding California antislave 
in sentiment, was the foreign immigration. European countries had, 
for the most part, prohibited slavery, and their people brought their 
antislave sentiment with them to the New World and helped make 
it free. California was admitted under the compromise in the Om- 
nibus Bill, in which was also the Fugitive Slave Law, a constant 
irritation to the North. 



206 INSTITUTIONAL HISTORY OF UNITED STATES. 

The Missouri Compromise was repealed in 1854 by the Kansas- 
Nebraska Bill. Thus was originated the squatter sovereiyuty prin- 
ciple, which gave a state the right to choose for itself whether it 
should have slaves or not. The colonization of Kansas absorbed 
the attention of both the North and South for a time after the pas- 
sage of the Kansas-Nebraska Bill. Two constitutions were made, 
and civil war occurred in the territory, before Kansas became a free 
state. Opposition to squatter sovereignty united Whigs, Free-Soilers, 
and Abolitionists in the Republican party, in 185G, whose principle 
was non-extension of slavery. 

A short distance out into the Atlantic lay the gem of the West 
Indies — Cuba. Like a pearl she rested on the broad bosom of the 
ocean. Being so convenient to American shores, the South began 
secret plans for annexing her and thus securing more slave territory. 
Pierce favored it, as did Buchanan, and, in 1854, three United States 
ministers interested themselves to the extent of issuing the Ostend 
Manifesto, which declared it advantageous to United States to own 
Cuba, and if Spain would not sell it. United States should seize it 
by force. Filibustering attempts were made in Central America by 
Walker to procure more slave territory. 

But now came a complete victory for the South. None of the 
laws so far made against slavery or concerning it had reached the 
Supreme Court, the highest and final tribunal in the land. No one 
knew what was constitutional and what was not. Mr. Scott, a negro, 
was taken by his master into free territory and then brought back 
into a slave district. When he came back to Missouri, he appealed 
to the law for his freedom, on the ground that he had been in free 
territory. The lower court decided in his favor, and the case was 
finally carried into the Federal Supreme Court, where the decision 
was against Scott, and was, in substance, that the negro slave was 
only property, having no civil rights, and that all territory was open 
to slavery. The famous Dred-Scott Decision made all previous laws 
limiting slavery unconstitutional. The victory for the South, how- 
ever, was only api)arent. Such determined opposition had developed 
in the North that nothing short of annihilation would ever control 
the mighty tongues and wills arrayed against slavery. Lundy, Gar- 
rison, Lovejoy, Wendell riiillips, Sumner, John Brown, Channing, 
Emerson, all the great New England poets and many societies and 
newspajjcrs, thundered against this one evil. Neither mobs, curses, 
threats, laws, nor anything else could stem the tide these men set 



SLAVERY. 207 

flowing. The one great book for the cause, '' Uncle Tom's Cabin," by 
Harriet Beecher StoAve, an arraignment of the Fugitive Slave Law 
under the disguise of a novel, was also a wonderful leader of senti- 
ment in the North. 

After the legislation of nearly three-fourths of a century, the 
question of slavery remained unsettled and was then incapable of 
peaceful settlement. The final stroke was the Civil War, for which 
Abraham Lincoln's election to the presidency served as the sorry 
pretext. South Carolina's legislature called a convention in Decem- 
ber, 1860, which pronounced the tie between that state and the 
others broken. Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Florida, 
and Texas followed soon with like announcements, and with South 
Carolina formed a new nation called the Confederate States of 
America. After the outbreak of the war, and because Lincoln pro- 
posed to force the states to preserve the Union, Arkansas, North Caro- 
lina, Virginia, and Tennessee joined the seceded states. Delegates 
were sent to Montgomery, Alabama, who organized the Confederacy 
and elected Jefferson Davis and Alexander Stephens its provisional 
president and vice-president. 

The great struggle following the events mentioned above is a 
painful picture. All war, any war, is dreadful, is awful ; and history 
presents no bloodier conflict in all its pages, nor one laden with 
greater good or ill, than our own civil strife. The American student 
and future patriot, while forgetting the animosity that existed on 
both sides, must ever keep in mind that the Civil War, on the part 
of one faction, was for the perpetuation of the thralldom of a part 
of humanity, and the dissolution of the greatest government among 
nations ; that in the War right triumphed and crushed to death our 
two national vices, — slavery and state rights. It was a battle for 
humanity, in whose blessings the eternal future shall reap benefits. 

The Civil War was the Waterloo of slavery in the United States. 
On the first day of January, 1863, the President emancipated all 
slaves in those states and parts of states then in open rebellion. He 
was able to do this as a war measure, and by right of his title, 
Commander-in-chief of the Army. After the proclamation took 
effect, the negroes in Kentucky, Maryland, Missouri, and in a part 
of Louisiana, Tennessee, and Virginia, were still slaves, because 
Kentucky, Maryland, Missouri, and the western part of Virginia 
were Union in government and sentiment. Parts of Tennessee and 
Louisiana were under martial control, so that the slaves in that terri- 



208 INSTITUTIONAL HISTORY OF UNITED STATES. 

tory also did not come under Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation. 
In 1865 the Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution freed all 
the slaves; in 1868 the Fourteenth Amendment made all negroes 
citizens ; and in 1870 the Fifteenth gave them the right of suffrage. 

On the institution of slavery hangs the most important legisla- 
tion of America's national life. It has so far been the greatest 
question she has had to meet. Its evils can be compared to nothing 
present or past. The results are not yet known. Two distinct and 
very different races find it very hard to live on one soil, unless one 
dominates the other. History gives us but little hope for satis- 
factory solution. It will take more humanity to solve the problem 
before the American people, both black and white, than the world 
has ever yet shown. Yet we have reason to hope for the solution. 
The progress of the negro since his freedom has been truly wonder- 
ful. A little more than a century ago he was a savage in the wilds 
of Africa, and not more than a quarter-century back he was a slave 
having no rights but those accorded to the brutes, — a place to sleep 
and something to eat. Now he is a good business man, an orator, a 
scholar, a statesman. He has amassed wealth and honor, and shown 
himself capable of the highest civilization. It is only by advance- 
ment that the negro need expect equal rights and privileges. It 
makes no difference what laws are made to protect him against the 
more intelligent white man. When his intellect can meet that of 
his white neighbor on an equality or can be superior to it, then 
color will be forgotten. The greater emancipation of the negro, no 
Lincoln can give him ; he must noAv be his own emancipator. The 
chains of ignorance shall fall only by the Lincolns within the 
negro's own brain and heart. 

The strongest chains forged for the negro in the days of his 
slavery were those of ignorance, and it was by keeping him igno- 
rant that he was kept a slave. In this connection we give a brief 
description of the laws pertaining to the education and social con- 
dition of the negro while in slavery. 

Alabama passed an act in 1832, making it a crime to teach any 
free person of color or any slave. Xo free negro was allowed to 
mingle with the slaves under penalty of flogging. No slave nor free 
negro was allowed to preach to negroes except in the presence of 
five slave-holders. In Mobile the mayor was authorized to grant 
license for teaching the children of ('reoles. Arkansas had no laws 
directly prohibiting the teaching of negroes, but custom forbade it. 



SLAVERY. 209 

In Connecticut one colored school was mobbed, and then legislated 
out of existence. Delaware had no laws against teaching the negro, 
but public opinion was against it and no schools were formed for that 
purpose except at Wilmington, in 1840, by the Quakers. Florida 
legislated for white schools only, and a tax was placed on the sale 
of negroes, which went to the white schools. Georgia had a law 
punishing any one who would teach a slave to read or write. All 
school laws of Illinois contained the word "white." Separate schools 
were established for the negroes before the War, but a school at 
Quincy was destroyed because it admitted negroes. Indiana had no 
laws to protect the negroes. Kentucky furnished no schools for the 
negroes before the War. Louisiana made it a crime to teach the 
negro, and no free negro dared enter the state under penalty. 
Maine gave suffrage and schooling to all her inhabitants without 
regard to race or color. In her constitution, adopted in 1820, Mary- 
land did not provide for educating the negro, but the convent in 
Baltimore established an academy for colored girls. There was 
another school established in the same city, in 1835, for the children 
of free negroes. Massachusetts had several schools for negroes ; a 
colored school was established in 1798, and a primary school in 
1820. In 1855 the state furnished schooling to all persons, without 
regard to race or color. 

Mississippi would not allow more than five negroes to meet at 
any one place or time. It was a crime there to teach the negro to 
read or write. Missouri made it a crime to teach a negro, and 
ordered all free negroes to leave the state in 1845. New York 
allowed suffrage to all males of age until 1821. There was a 
school opened for slaves in 1704, and in four years there were two 
hundred persons attending the school. From this time on she had 
schools for negroes, and public schools were established for them in 
1824, after which great interest was taken in the education of the 
blacks. North Carolina had schools for free negroes until 1835, 
Avhen they were abolished, and negroes were not allowed to be 
taught. Ohio established a school for negroes in 1820, at Cincin- 
nati. In 1849 such schools were established by law in that state, 
to be kept up by the public. Oberlin College opened its doors to 
the negro from its first day, in 1833, and has never closed them. 
The first negro school in Pennsylvania was established in 1750. 
On account of the Quakers, the negroes in Pennsylvania were given 
many privileges. Rhode Island gave equal rights to all in 1843. 



210 INSTITUTIONAL HISTORY OF UNITED STATES. 

South Carolina was a leader in all legislation against the rights 
of negroes. Tennessee had no laws against negro schools, but none 
was allowed, and it was the same in Texas. Virginia had laws 
against teaching negroes. Since the War the laws of all states 
provide either for separate schools or schools with the whites, and 
the result has been all that the fondest hopes could wish. The 
negro, so lately in barbarism and slavery, shows the proper ability 
to take an education and use it. 

We will now notice briefly the extinction of African slavery by 
other countries since our Civil War. Most countries freed their 
slaves before the United States did, as given above. Spain passed an 
act in 1870 freeing all slaves sixty years old or more, and all others 
when they should attain that age, and that all children born of 
slaves from that time, 1870, should be free. These last were to be 
supported by the master until they were eighteen years of age, and 
then kept as apprentices. In 188G the legislature of Spain abol- 
ished the apprentice system, and this has finally driven slavery out 
of Spain and her colonies. 

In 1871 the legislature of Brazil passed an act providing that all 
children born of slaves after the passage of the bill should be free, 
but they were bound to serve the owners of their mothers until 
they were twenty-one. In 1885 slaves more than sixty years old 
were freed, except they must work for the master for three more 
years at a low compensation. In 188C the legislature freed all the 
slaves, the Emperor's daughter signing the bill as Princess Regent, 
the Emperor being away. 

Thus has disappeared the last; remnant of the modern system of 
slavery from among civilized states. The first slave was brought 
to the New World in 1502, the last one was emancipated in 1888. 
The system had nearly four centuries of life on our continent, but 
in the progress of the ages all wrongs are righted ; and in slavery, 
as in all other crimes, the victims were not the only sufferers, prob- 
ably not the greatest. 

As Russia merged into historical vision, there Avere three classes 
of the rural population : (1) slaves ; (2) free agricultural laborers ; 
(3) peasants, or small farmers. Slaves were made by ca])ture in 
war, sale of poor freemen and debtors, and by law in some criminal 
cases. These three classes became the serfs of the eighteenth and 
nineteenth centuries. They were the absolute ])roperty of either an 
individual or the state. Paul, who reigned from 1796 to 1801, 



SLAVERY. 211 

ordered that the serfs should work only three days per week for 
the master. Alexander II., after the Crimean War, appointed a 
secret committee to study the subject of serf-emancipation. The 
outcome of the committee's work was the abolition of serfdom in 
March, 1861. This act emancipated more than 40,000,000 serfs. 

Gradually, human slavery is disappearing from the earth. It 
still exists in the Orient, but with a tendency to decline. France 
prohibited slavery in Madagascar, in December, 1896. Ownership 
in human beings is soon to be a matter of history, in which condi- 
tion no page of its record will be darker with suffering or brighter 
with nobler deeds than that one which chronicles our own dear 
America's part. 



CHAPTER XVII. 

EDUCATION. 

Systems — Virginia — William and Mauy's — Studies — Newspaper — 
Drama — South Carolina — North Carolina — Maryland — Pennsyl- 
vania — Delaware — New York — New Jersey — New England — 
Harvard — Connecticut — Yale — Rhode Island — Revolution — 
Academies — Free Schools — Text-hooks — Girls — School Fund — Lot- 
teries — Northwest Territory — Land Grants — Centralization — 
County Supervision — Bureau of Education — Smithsonian Institute 
— Coast Survey, etc. — Grading — High School — Freedman's Aid Soci- 
ety — Peabody Fund, etc. — Independent Normals. 

THERE were four school systems in the colonies, — the Private, 
Parochial, Patroon, and Public. We mean by tlie Private 
School system that the education of the child was left wholly to the 
care of its parents, who either employed private tutors, or supported 
subscription schools. The state did not interfere in any way with 
the parents' plans, and levied no taxes for school purposes. A 
Parochial School was one that was under the control of a church. 
The Patroon Schools were those in which the patroon regulated 
educational matters, and bore all expenses for the same. The Public 
School system was in the hands of the state, which made the laws 
regulating and controlling it. Understanding these systems, we are 
now ready to take up the liistovy of Education in United States, and 
shall begin with the first settlement, — 

VIRGINIA. 

" Every man instructs his own children according to his ability, 
and gives thanks to God that there are no free schools in Virginia, 
and no probability of any for a hundred years to come." These 
were the words of Berkeley, governor of Virginia in 1671; and while 
they are not altogether true, yet they give an insight into the his- 
tory of education in the South during the Colonial Period. Educa- 
tional advantages were sadly deficient. About 1620 an attempt was 

212 



EDUCATION. , 213 

made to found a college for christianizing the Indians, but the Mas- 
sacre of 1622 destroyed the effort and intention. The East India 
School was started about the same time, and met the same fate. 
In 1060 an effort was made to found a college for the clergy, but it 
also failed, though the Assembly appropriated land for the purpose. 

In 1692 Mr. Blair, a minister, succeeded in establishing 
the William and Mary's College. Some wealthy planters gave 
£25,000 towards founding the college in 1688. Reverend Blair 
worked long and diligently for the institution before an indif- 
ferent court, and with a more indifferent people. The attorney- 
general was presented with the charter, and refused to put it in 
force. On being told that the Virginians had souls to save, he 
answered, "Damn your souls, make tobacco." But the charter, 
which was the first of its kind in America, was finally enforced. 

Mr. Blair was made the first president of the college, which was 
called William and Mary's, and which was the second colonial col- 
lege. It was given 20,000 acres of land, a penny a pound on 
tobacco exported from Virginia and Maryland, and the fees and 
privileges of the surveyor-general's office. It was exempted from 
taxation, and given representation in the Assembly. The bishops 
of London were the chancellors until the Revolution. George 
Washington, in 1789, was the first American and layman to hold 
that office. It was a wealthy college from the beginning, wealthier 
than either Harvard or Yale. Latin, Greek, Philosophy, Mathe- 
matics, Theology, and the Oriental languages were the main courses. 
It was mainly a college for educating ministers for the English 
Church in Virginia. Twice a month an original composition in 
Latin was required. The work done can best be comprehended by 
knowing the graduates, among whom were five signers of the Declara- 
tion of Independence, three of the Randolphs, Monroe, and Chief- 
Justice Marshall. The annual enrollment was about seventy-five. 
The college decreased in ability and influence steadily in the last 
half of the eighteenth century and became little more than a gram- 
mar school, which finally ceased altogether. 

The common studies in Virginia were Grammar, Algebra, Sur- 
veying, and Navigation. She had no public libraries during her 
Colonial Period. Art and literature were at a low ebb. Only 
native books gained any influence. Beverly's "History of Vir- 
ginia," Seth's "History of Early Settlers," and Byrd's Journal, 
treating of his observations while running the North Carolina 



214 INSTITUTIONAL HISTORY OF UNITED STATES. 

boundary, were the only native Avorks of literaiy importance in 
the colony. In 1736 the Virginia Gazette, the first newspaper in 
Virginia, was published. The drama was but little fostered. The 
first theater was constructed in 1752 for a company of 'New York 
comedians. The people who read considered tJie "Spectator" and 
I^lair's "Sermons" the most useful books. Pope's "Essays" and 
Montaigne's " Gil Bias " were popular. Politics was an absorbing 
question, and the Virginians made good politicians, as history shows 
us. While education was restricted and advantages poor, yet a 
colony that produced a Washington, Marshall, Jefferson, Henry, 
Madison, Lee, Randolph, Pendleton, Mason, etc., all great examples 
of American genius, certainly was not entirely destitute of educa- 
tional advantages and native ability. 

The Dorchester Seminary was founded in South Carolina by some 
Massachusetts Congregationalists near the middle of the eighteenth 
century; but a general educational system did not exist in South 
Carolina until a long time after the Kevolution. Printing did not 
begin in North Carolina until 1764, and there were only two schools 
incorporated by 1776. Georgia was in a much worse condition. There 
were a few itinerant, drunken, worthless schoolmasters there; but 
there was no attempt by State, Church, or individual to found a col- 
lege or school system. In 1763 the Georgia Gazette was published. 

Education was not of great interest in Maryland, and was man- 
aged under the Parochial system or church control. King William's 
Academy at Annapolis Avas a substitute for a college. It was 
founded near the close of the seventeenth century, and wns not 
much more than a high school. Free schools were established in 
the colony in 1728, but they were under church control, and never 
prospered. The masses were not well educated. Convicts and in- 
dentured servants were sold as teachers. The wealthy sent their 
children abroad or into Pennsylvania for their higlicr education. 
In 1689 a printing press was introduced, and the Maryland Gazette 
was established in 1745. Private libraries were few. 

Coming to the middle colonies, it will be Avell to begin with 

PENNSYLVANIA AND DELAWARE. 

Those colonies were so much alike in their history that they can 
be well treated together in almost any line of thought. Philadelphia 
was an important center of learning. The first school was opened 



EDUCATION. 215 

in 1683. It was a municipal scliool, and soon after this a public 
school was organized by the Quakers, which afterwards was char- 
tered by Penn. This school gave free tuition to the poor, and 
charged the rich. For fifty years afterwards it was the only public 
school in the colony. Franklin, in 1743, conceived a plan for a uni- 
versity, but it failed then and was revived a few years afterwards, 
when an academy was chartered, and a college was added, which soon 
enrolled four hundred students; so started the University of Penn- 
sylvania, the foremost college of that time in literature, art, and 
science. 

Franklin as a scientist made Pennsylvania known throughout 
the civilized world. A translation of Cicero was made by James 
Logan. The Almanac was a popular book, as the Colonial Almanac 
should have been, and Poor Eichard stood at the front. The Mer- 
cury was the first newspaper, and was always very radical. As 
early as 1721 its editor had to apologize to the legislature for a 
statement concerning the finance of the colony ; and a little later he 
was put into jail for certain things he had published. 

Thomas Godfrey invented the quadrant, and his son wrote the 
first American drama. John Bartram, a simple Quaker farmer, 
Avon world-wide reputation as a botanist. In 1768 the orrery was 
completed by Rittenhouse, who sold it for £300; and in the 
same year the Assembly voted £100 to purchase a telescope. 
The next year the Philosophical Society erected a platform for 
the observation of the transit of Venus. 

Lectures were frequent by the medical profession. Many libra- 
ries were formed of the best literature, and a house published 
I>lackstone, Eobertson's "Charles V.," and Ferguson's "Essays." 
Magazines and reviews were published. There were one German 
and two English newspapers giving space to foreign news. There 
were two public libraries in Philadelphia, which was second only 
to Poston as a literary and news center, and was first as a scientific 
center because it was the home of the wonderful Franklin. The 
charter given to Penn provided that he should erect and care for 
all public schools, and reward the authors of the useful sciences and 
inventions in said province. 

Pennsylvania and Delaware were made up of such a heterogene- 
ous population that no established system of schooling could be 
founded. Swedes, Dutch, English, Catholics and Protestants, 
Churchmen and Quakers, all with ideas, and no two alike, made it 



216 INSTITUTIONAL HISTORY OF UNITED STATES. 

impossible to systemize schooling very perfectly. Christopher Dock 
was an early pioneer, and the first "American Pedagogue." He is 
often called the " Father of American Pedagogy." There were many 
good teachers, but the advancement of education was all individual 
and local. There was no public school system. The teaching in 
the elementary branches was done by churches or by individuals. 

NEW YORK. 

New York lays claim to the first public school system in America. 
In 1630 the States-General of Holland advised and ordered that 
patroons should carefully furnish schoolmasters, and pay the same. 
A tax, to be paid by each householder, was levied for this purpose. 
In 1C33 the first schoolmaster came, and the first tax was levied. 
Thus Brooklyn claims to have originated the public school system 
in America. The school founded in 1633 still exists. It was an 
elementary institution, and was mostly managed by the Dutch 
church, though it was often assisted by the public treasury. The 
first classical school of the colony was founded in 1658. 

Teachers had to be examined, and had to secure the sanction of 
both the civil and church authorities. A teacher was not only the 
schoohnaster, but usually here and in New England clerk of the 
town, chorister, official visitor of the sick, and court messenger to 
serve summons. It was his duty also to conduct certain services of 
the church, to ring the bell for public worship, to dig graves, etc. 
Then as now he was a man for all occasions, and the pay then as 
noAv was poor enough. 

There were private, parochial, and public schools in New York. 
The Dutch showed much more interest in education than the Eng- 
lish, and their schools were both public and parochial in nature; 
that is, they were under church discipline, and the public treasury 
gave the means for their support. New York had a better system 
than any southern colony, and as good as any other of the middle 
colonies. The elementary branches were taught. In 1732 a Latin 
school was formed, which was the beginning of Columljia College. 
It gave instruction in the higher branches, and charged tuition fees. 
It did not grow rapidly. In 1773, at the commencement, but five 
students graduated. One drawback to schools in New York was 
the church and race dissension. The college was established on 
an Episcopal basis, which of course aroused the enmity of the dis- 



EDUCATION. 217 

senters. The Dutch always opposed all English education. All in 
all, education did not reach the people to help as it should. The 
rich sent their sons to New or Old England to finish their educa- 
tion, while the daughters remained at home, and the poor took what 
elementary education they could get from the different kinds of 
schools throughout the colony. 

NEW JERSEY. 

The school system among the English in New Jersey was much 
after the New England town system. Three men were elected to 
levy the taxes, and to pay the schoolmasters. A grammar school 
was opened at Elizabeth, and the people showed a desire for an educa- 
tion. The Presbyterians, in 1746, established a college at Prince- 
ton, which enrolled one hundred students yearly, and gave excellent 
instruction. This bore the name for a long time of the " Log Col- 
lege," because of the rudeness of the schoolhouse. It is now the 
famous Princeton College of New Jersey. 

In 1693 a law was passed legalizing schools in any town of the 
colony, whenever a majority of the inhabitants consented to pay 
their share of the expenses. This gave no permanence to the 
schools, however, and no better system was established for a hun- 
dred years. In 1758 a magazine was published. The Neio Jersey 
Gazette was published during the Kevolution. In literary labor 
New Jersey did not rank high. There were no native books of 
importance. 

NEW ENGLAND. 

The Puritan's idea of education was distinctly different from 
that of any other people in the New World. By 1049 education 
was compulsory in all New England except in Rhode Island. New 
England and education began and grew together. The schoolhouse 
went up alongside the meeting-house, which was always the first 
house built. Teachers at first were not plentiful, and families were 
forced to teach their children at home. In New Hampshire and in 
out districts this was true down until the Revolution. This home 
teaching was followed by dame's schools, by the instruction of itiner- 
ant teachers, and sometimes by officers of the town teaching children 
until they could enter the grammar school. These latter schools 
steadily developed into the public school system of to-day. In 1776 



218 INSTITUTIONAL HISTORY OP UNITED STATES. 

to find an illiterate person in Xew England, except in Maine, was 
almost impossible, so systematic and general was education. Here 
was the origin of the great public school system of America. 

Seven years after Endicott landed was founded the great Har- 
vard College to train up " Learned " and " Godly " ministers, and 
which by 1776 afforded as complete an education as could have been 
secured on either continent. Theology, Philosophy, and the Classics 
were the special studies. The professors were profound and learned 
men. The college had a library of 5000 volumes, and a set of 
astronomical and philosophical apparatus. 

A brief history of this college may be helpful. The Massa- 
chusetts Assembly voted £400 toward a college. This is said 
to have been the first representative body to have voted money 
for such purposes. Twelve men were appointed trustees. Mr. 
Harvard gave half his estate and his library towards the enter- 
prise. This was followed by donations from other sources and 
people. Anything of value was subscribed: cattle, books, money, 
spoons, etc. All gave of their substance, so Harvard College grew 
up from and of the people. 

At first it was a school scarcely aspiring to the rank of a college. 
About 1G60 the requirements for admission were made more rigid. 
A student to enter had to be able to read Tully extempore, and 
make and speak Latin. There was a three years' course. For a 
half-century the college was not much more than a training-school 
for ministers, yet there was seldom if ever anytliing to check the 
freest thought. Logic, Esthetics, Politics, Arithmetic and Geome- 
try, Greek, Hebrew, Chaldee, and Syriac were the important studies. 
Latin was finished before entrance. The Bible was carefull}^ studied. 
History was taught by lectures, as was Botany. 

The first commencement was in 1642, at which time nine young 
men graduated. Increase Mather took the first Doctor's degree in 
1692. The college became so popular that English parents fre- 
quently sent their sons there to finish their education. In the first 
century one-half the graduates became ministers. The college was 
chartered in 1650, which charter it still holds. For a hundred years 
the salaries of the teachers were mostly paid froni the public treas- 
ury, all the New England colonies assisting. Tliere were a few 
donations. In this time, however, there was much trouble finan- 
cially. Teachers were not always paid, and l)uildings were old and 
Avorn. New Hampshire's help and })rivate donations from England 



EDUCATION. 219 

were the only sure aid the college had much of the time, but the 
eighteenth century saw it more prosperous. The curriculum was 
changed, and admission was made easier. Latin, Greek, Logic and 
Metaphysics, and Mathematics and Natural Philosophy were the 
four lines of study. 

The college received in private donations about £15,000, 1000 
acres of land, and many books, yet it was a poverty-stricken 
institution with bankrupt officers and teachers, and religious con- 
troversies preventing its usefulness. The entire income from 
state and gifts amounted to about £750 in 1732, yet it kept 
bravely on through all fights, — financial, religious, and political, 
— and was then, as it is now, a leading institution of the country. 

Massachusetts and her sister New England colonies made educa- 
tion a law, binding on all and giving all free access. Though the 
honor is claimed by other colonies, yet Massachusetts was the first 
colony to institute such a system. In New York the system Avas local ; 
in Pennsylvania, charitable; in Virginia, parental; but in Massachu- 
setts it was national. In 1647 a law was made forcing all communi- 
ties of fifty householders to provide a teacher for the children of the 
same, and in the same act a grammar school was provided for in 
towns of one hundred householders. In all the world's history 
there had been nothing just like it. The school first mentioned was 
rudimentary, and led up to the grammar school, where the pupil 
was prepared for Harvard. Any neglect to carry out the law was 
punishable. 

Connecticut, in 1690, passed a law much like the Massachusetts 
law. Every town of fifty families had to provide an elementary 
school ; and of one hundred families, a grammar school, and neglect 
was punishable. Later, towns of thirty families had to provide the 
former; and of seventy families, the latter; and the schools had to 
continue eleven months in the year. 

In this colony was established Yale College. Connecticut 
had assisted in establishing and maintaining Harvard, but had 
always hoped for a like college herself. In 1647 an attempt was 
made to establish a college, but failed, and the money raised was 
turned over to Harvard. But the idea still lived, and in 1688 
was again put in force. Ten clergymen were selected as trustees 
to erect and govern the college. In 1700 each trustee brought sev- 
eral volumes of books and gave to the enterprise, and Yale College 
began its wonderful career. There were only forty volumes of these 



220 INSTITUTIONAL HISTORY OF UNITED STATES. 

books. A cliavter was secured the next year, and in March, 1701, 
the school was opened. It was not then called a college, and in 
September there was but one student. There was yet no fixed 
existence for the school. It was scattered in a half-dozen different 
places at once. The students were allowed to find instruction wher- 
ever they could get it; so the seniors would be in one town, the 
juniors in another, etc. The work continued in this way until 
1718, when the college was fixed at New Haven. Elihu Yale, John 
Davenport, and Cotton Mather were the main movers in the enter- 
prise. The Mathers did not like Harvard for religious reasons, and 
so favored Yale. Connecticut, down to 177G, gave about $25,000 
to the institution. The college has largely been supported by pri- 
vate means. The course of study was similar to Harvard's; and 
like that of that institution, largely theological at first, though 
there was a greater variety of work done at Yale. 

Khode Island did not attempt a school system until after the 
Revolution. There were schools, but no organization. Maine 
existed as a, part of Massachusetts until 1820, but being an outly- 
ing colony it did not have the advantages in education that the 
latter had. New Hampshire had a public school system much like 
that of Massachusetts or Connecticut, and Vermont had only local 
and chance schools prior to the Revolution. All New England was 
characterized, however, with an educational feeling. Dartmouth 
College in New Hampshire, and Brown College in Rhode Island, 
founded later, were both strong factors in the development of civili- 
zation. From all this interest the people received, of course, excel- 
lent results. Learned men were numerous. Illiteracy was more 
imcommon than pauperism. One could nearly say every one could 
read, write, and cipher. The greatness of New England thought 
was shown best in the theological controversies. Cotton, the 
Mathers, and Williams, etc., were leaders in this thought. Some 
poetry was written, but was not of much value. The first news- 
paper in the New World was published in Boston in 1690. The 
highest literary thought of the times was the study of the scholars, 
and in 177G there was a library in every township. 

As a summing up, and to carry the line of development into the 
National Period, a few words on the condition of schools during 
the Revolution will be added. Generally the Free Scliool system 
was not popular. Free schools -were called charitable schools. The 
policy of the government in most of the colonies was not to interfere 



EDtrCAtlON. 221 

with elementary instruction. Those who could pay should do so, 
but if the parents were too poor to pay, the state should educate the 
child. This was a general principle. The poor, of course, despised 
this public display of their poverty, and in many cases would not 
accept the favor. 

Teachers were not well paid, so of course were not well quali- 
fied. In many cases convicts and bond-servants were the teachers, 
and even in the colleges there Avere not enough men of ability. But 
the people were learning in the wide world of experience, with the 
Parliament and king as teachers. Their circumstances directed 
their activities into other channels, consequently schools were not 
well nor rapidly developed. Text-books were not plentiful nor 
suitable. Reading and spelling generally went together, and usu- 
ally there was added to the same, elementary instruction in grammar. 

Academies were numerous at this period. New York had nine- 
teen, and every colony or state had one or more. The principal 
colleges founded prior to the Revolution were Harvard, William 
and Mary's, Yale, Princeton, King's College (now Columbia), Uni- 
versity of Pennsylvania, Brown University, Dartmouth College, and 
Rutgers. By the end of the century sixteen more had been estab- 
lished: three in Maryland, two each in Vermont, Virginia, and 
Tennessee, and one each in Massachusetts, Maine, North Carolina, 
New York, South Carolina, Pennsylvania, and District of Columbia. 
Four of them were founded during the Revolution and the others 
soon afterwards. Many of them have practically failed. Five only 
have become great. Harvard became a university, and all the col- 
leges became more liberal in thought. The majority of the colleges 
founded during this period were non-sectarian. 

With education thus expanding, the country entered upon its 
National Period, in which, from the first, education has received a 
due degree of assistance. The Free School system now, as before, 
was not a universally popular one, especially for elementary work. 
It Avas still rather generally believed that paupers should have 
schooling free, but that others should pay for theirs. In most places 
public schools were "pauper schools." New England had a town- 
ship system of free schools, but the idea was not wholly popular 
even there. The distinction drawn between the rich and poor by 
these schools was a harmful one, and one not wholly eradicated 
for many years afterwards. A teacher was not well thought of, 
and not much was expected of him. He was often a foreigner, 



222 INSTITUTIONAL HISTORY OF UNITED STATES. 

and had little learning and great vices. One authority says, in 
1788, that the teacher was often a low-bred, intemperate adven- 
turer of the Old World. Transported felons and indentured ser- 
vants frequently taught when they could get nothing else to do. It 
became the practice for the ship captain to advertise some of his 
indentured servants as school teachers. While things were so to a 
great extent, yet there were learned men in the work. Still, among 
the common schools the teacher, as a rule, lacked every requisite 
for that great profession. 

This is the period of text-book introduction. The New England 
Primer had been the popular book in schools of the century. It 
was a spelling and reading book with the Catechism added. The 
New England Psalm-Book was also in use during the Revolution, 
and the Dilworth Spelling-Book furnished the reading and grammar 
for the last half of the century. There were a few other spellers 
for different grades, and in 1783 Webster's Spelling-Book was pub- 
lished. It grew into use both for its worth and because it was 
wholly American, since Webster had planned the work partly be- 
cause he was too patriotic to use an English speller. Webster's 
Third Part Reader was published in 1785, and was the most popular 
reader, though there were several others. Hodder's Arithmetic was 
the one in most use until 1785, when Pike's took its place. Daboll's 
Arithmetic in 1785, and Dilworth's in 1790, were popular. Pike's 
contained some algebra. Murray's Grammar, 1790, was long the 
most popular text on that subject. More's Geography, 1784, was 
the only geographical text. 

Schools for boys were plentiful, but then, as too often now, 
parents considered an education for the girls useless. The girls 
had been given instruction during the boys' vacation or the noon 
liour for a long time, and some institutions of higher learning were 
organized for girls, but the matter was not nuich noticed. In 1787 
Mr. Caleb Bingham opened a school in Pennsylvania for girls, where 
they were taught reading, spelling, arithmetic, and grammar. More 
applied than could be accommodated. The " double-lieaded " system 
was organized to accommodate both sexes. The girls and boys were 
allowed to attend school in separate buildings, and the girls were 
given schooling six months in the year. This system is still in 
practice in many colleges, and in some cities East and South, while 
it continued everywhere almost as late as the Civil War. 

Another part of the school system was the grammar school, hav- 



EDUCATION. 223 

ing its origin early in colonial times. This was a school preparing 
young men for college, and many colleges of the period had such 
schools annexed. They stood between the elementary schools and 
the colleges, and served the double purpose of preparing for college, 
or giving the pupil some classical learning beyond the elementary 
work. Latin and Greek were taught, and the Mathematics received 
much attention. 

The opening of the present century witnessed a change in the 
school system of the country; for twenty years there was a remark- 
able growth in every way. Great men, great political questions, and 
great events were prominent, and education of course was a great aid 
in the advancement. It was in a sense a renaissance. In 1805 the 
Public School Society of New York City was formed. Primary edu- 
cation was urged. Boston and New York, in 1818, provided county 
supervisors of schools. High schools, manual training schools, 
mechanics' institutes, seminary institutes, and educational journals, 
all had their origin the first thirty years after the Revolution. 

A great step in educational progress was the creation of the 
school fund, which is made up by township, city, and state taxes, 
land-grants, fees, sale-bills, private funds, fines, etc. In 1786 New 
York set aside two lots in each township for educational and reli- 
gious purposes, and in 1801 gave the proceeds of half a million acres 
of land to the school fund. New Hampshire levied a tax of one- 
half of 1 per cent, on the banks of the state for a fund, in 182J.. 
Maine gave the proceeds of twenty townships of land to her fund. 
New Jersey made bank stock and her funded debt the school fund, 
which she applied to the common schools. Rhode Island, Vermont, 
and Pennsylvania had no fund, but set aside a sum of money each 
year for the common schools: Rhode Island, $100,000; Vermont, 
about the same; and Pennsylvania, $1,000,000. 

The South moved more slowly in making such appropriations 
for her schools. Delaware set aside bank stock and state bonds 
as a school fund in 1837. Virginia raised her fund by legislative 
appropriation. South Carolina in 1811, and North Carolina in 
1825, did the same ; these funds, however, were used for the poor, 
so the results were not good, Alabama, Florida, and Georgia made 
appropriations of land. Tennessee did the same in 1806, but in 
1816 bank stock became the fund. Kentucky and Louisiana granted 
lands. In 1821 Kentucky appropriated one-half her profits from 
state banking:. 



224 INSTITUTIONAL HISTORY OF UNITED STATES. 

From one-half to three-quarters of a century ago, lotteries were 
a popular method for raising school funds. (See article on the Lot- 
tery.) These were legalized, and were looked upon as honorable 
means of raising money for any good purpose. Columbia College 
was founded by a lottery in 1747. Williamstown Academy of 
Massachusetts was organized in the same way in 1790. The Uni- 
versity of the state of New York had a like beginning in 1794. 
Seven-eighths of the proceeds of lotteries in New York went to the 
common-school fund. Vincennes Uiiiversity of Indiana was partly 
so founded. William and Mary's, Brown, and Harvard were all 
helped by like endowments. Till 1840 nearly every enterprise of a 
public nature received state aid through a lottery. Improvements 
in city schools and colleges, libraries, churches, etc., largely received 
the aid of one or more lotteries, established by the state or city for 
that purpose. 

The general government also took much interest in the educa- 
tional work. In the Northwest Territory, Congress reserved the 
central section of each township for school purposes. This was 
Jefferson's plan. It was proposed that the section north of the 
central be used for religious purposes, but the movement to so apply 
it was defeated. Ohio received three townships on her admission 
as a state, to found a university, and the sixteenth section in eacli 
township for the common schools. Indiana, Illinois, and INIichigan 
received the same. Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Ten- 
nessee received three townships each. Maine, Missouri, Arkansas, 
Florida, Texas, Wisconsin, and Iowa received a section in each 
township. 

In 1841 500,000 acres of land were given to each of the 
following states: Alabama, Arkansas, California, Florida, Illinois, 
Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, INIis- 
souri, Nebraska, Nevada, Oregon, and Wisconsin. Three million 
acres of this land went to the common schools. In 1848 the 
number of acres was doubled, and California, Minnesota, Oregon, 
Kansas, Nebraska, Colorado, and Nevada received the sixteenth and 
thirty-sixth sections of each township for educational purposes. All 
new states, since 1848, except West Virginia, received the same. 
From 1849 till 1800, Alabama, Arkansas, California, Florida, Illi- 
nois, Iowa, Indiana, Louisiana, IMichigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, 
Missouri, and Wisconsin received 11,000,000 acres of swamp land 
for school purposes. 



EDUCATION. 225 

In the first one hundred years of its life, the government granted 
80,000,000 acres of land to schools; a territory as large as Ohio, 
Indiana, and Illinois together. About four-fifths of this went to 
the common schools. Besides all this, millions of money from 
taxes, and sales of public lands, were given for educational pur- 
poses. Nebraska now has 2,500,000 acres', which she must sell at 
J^7 per acre, and a tax on 24,000,000 acres as a school fund. 
When Jackson put the government's money in the state banks, 
many of the states appropriated it for educational purposes. At 
present the sum spent yearly in United States for school purposes is 
iff 120, 000, 000, and the amount is constantly increasing. The gov- 
ernment takes charge of the education of the Indians, and of the 
people in Alaska. It furnishes schooling to many soldiers' orphans, 
and provides for the military and naval institutes. 

The tendency in educational circles to-day is the centralizing of 
power. All the states and territories, except Delaware and New 
Mexico, have a state superintendent. Most states have also Boards 
of Education. North Carolina organized the first in 1825. City 
superintendency is now a certainly established plan for city schools. 
Many of our large cities, however, have just entered upon this sys- 
tem, Philadelphia, for one, as recently as 1883. 

County supervision has taken its place alongside the other 
improvements. This organization of our schools, from the lowest 
on up to the highest, has given our educational life such an impetus, 
that it advances by leaps where it once could only creep. Like one 
great union of forces, all go at one pace and to the same end. 

The forces at work on the teacher are so numerous, and the 
pressure placed upon him so intense and open, that no thorough 
discussion of the present system shall be attempted in this work. 
Institutes, private and state normal schools, pedagogical institu- 
tions for higher training, and books and periodicals by the thou- 
sands, all speak of the opportunity and work of the teacher. His 
work is recognized as a profession calling for special training and 
study, and right nobly do the teachers take up the work. They 
are rapidly becoming skilled professionalists, and the tendency is 
towards something far superior to any good yet reached. 

In 1867 the National Bureau of Education was organized by act 
of Congress. It is the duty of the Bureau to collect statistics that 
will show the condition of education in the states and territories, 
and to spread a knowledge of school systems and educational plans 



226 INSTITUTIONAL HISTORY OF UNITED STATES. 

among the people. It makes an annual report wliicli is a valuable 
history of the schools. Discussions are made in these reports on 
different school systems and on educational topics of general inter- 
est. It has collected a valuable library of nearly 25,000 volumes, 
and has established an educational museum. 

One of the interesting facts of education is the founding of the 
Smithsonian Institute, at Washington. John Smithson of England 
died in 1829, and left his fortune to his nephew with the proviso 
that if the latter died without heirs the money should be used to 
found an institution at Washington, United States of America, for 
the spreading of knowledge among men. The nephew died without 
heirs in 1835, and the money, amounting to $518,318, was appropri- 
ated as provided. It took Congress until 1844 to decide just what 
was meant by Smithson in his bequest, as the only condition given 
was "to diffuse knowledge among men." It was first tliought that 
a college was tlie proper means of doing this, and that the money 
sliould be the nuclevis of a great American university, which has 
been the ambition of Americans since 1790. Again, it was proposed 
to use the money to establish a museum or a library. Others thought 
it should go to the schools of Washington, and still others to pri- 
mary schools and to Sunday-schools. It was proposed to use it to 
make geographical explorations. Finally, under the leadership 
of J. Q. Adams, the amount was used to found an institution for 
physical research in all departments, — agriculture, war, architec- 
ture, engineering, mining, manufacturing, and commerce. 

In 1847 the formal act Avas passed, the persons to form a board 
being the President, Vice-President, the members of the cabinet, 
chief-justice, commissioner of patents, mayor of AVashington, and 
such others as they might elect. The supervision now rests with 
the Vice-President, chief-justice, mayor of Washington, three 
senators, three representatives, and six others. The Institute 
includes a museum, chemical laboratory, library, gallery of art, 
and lecture rooms. It makes an annual report, which is very valu- 
able, and answers an important purpose in the research of the 
physical world. 

Another department in the government's supervision of educa- 
tional interests is the United States Coast Survey. It was insti- 
tuted in 1807, under Jefferson's administration. Its design is to 
make accurate maps of the coast, to place signals, to mark the course 
of currents, tides, and winds, and to perform any other dut}' that 



EDUCATION. 227 

will increase the safety of commerce. This work has grown to huge 
proportions, and has furnished a fund of valuable information. 
Geographical surveys, Geological surveys, the Signal Service, Naval 
expeditions, the Naval Observatory, and Bureau of Agriculture, all 
are under the direct supervision of the government, and are of untold 
value, both practically and theoretically. 

The grading of schools is now a prominent feature in the educa- 
tional world. Before 1818 public schools were mostly grammar 
schools, or at best mixed schools. They were more intended to fit 
boys for college than to teach the very young. The " Infant School 
Society " opened up the first low grade school in the city of New 
York, in 1828, which soon after became part of the public school 
system. This primary work is now receiving great attention in the 
educational circles, and all states have such schools. 

The high school was founded first in Boston, in 1821. It filled 
a place beyond the grammar school for such as did not want to take 
a college course. Philadelphia, in 1837, Baltimore, in 1839, and 
New York, in 1849, started such schools. Rhode Island opened up 
a high school for both boys and girls in 1843. Boston tried the 
high school for girls, in 1826, but abandoned it in a year because it 
was too expensive. Philadelphia admitted girls to a separate high 
school in 1840. Cincinnati founded her high school in 1847; St. 
Louis, in 1853; Chicago, in 1856; and Detroit, in 1858. By 1860 
the East, North, and West had such schools. 

The Freedman's Aid Society, organized in 1861, established 
many schools in the South from 1861 to 1869. It had then 600 
teachers and several thousand pupils. The Preedman's Bureau was 
another great factor in the same work. It soon put into the field 
more than 1000 teachers and 100,000 pupils, and by 1869 spent over 
$5,000,000 for buildings, etc. Missionary societies have helped 
greatly in this work. The American Missionary Association was 
organized in 1866, and has spent more than f 6,000,000 in schools 
in the South. The Freedman's Aid Society of the Methodist Epis- 
copal Church, organized in 1866, had four purposes : (1) to prepare 
ministers; (2) to prepare teachers ; (3) to educate physicians ; (4) to 
elevate the colored women of the South. It now has charge of seven 
universities: Central Tennessee College; Clark University, Geor- 
gia; Cloftin University, South Carolina; New Orleans University; 
Phelander Smith College, Arkansas; Rust University, Mississipj)i; 
and Wiley University, Texas. It also supports three theological 



228 INSTITUTIONAL HISTORY OF UNITED STATES. 

schools, one medical sclaool, two normal schools, and eleven semi- 
naries and academies, has more than $500,000 in school property, 
and has paid out more than $2,000,000. Other churches, Presby- 
terian, Baptist, etc., have work of a like character. 

The Peabody Fund of $3,100,000, given by George Peabody, the 
great philantliropist, was of greatest importance to the common 
school system of the South. The Slater Fund of $100,000 has been 
of great assistance to the needy of the same section. These two 
benefactors have never been equaled in their purpose, and it is safe 
to say that every dollar given has already brought am})le returns, 
though its usefulness is just beginning. The states of the South 
have been quick to help themselves. By 1870 all except Delaware 
had legislation for a public school system. Now there are normal 
schools, universities, and public free schools in all the states, and 
the great question of universal and free schooling is being rapidly 
settled by that section. 

So far in this discussion of the educational history of the United 
States, one system of schooling has been left out, that of the Inde- 
pendent or Private Normal colleges. Because they are based on a 
principle of self-existence, are usually a little more modest in their 
outward presentation, and are comparatively young, they stand out- 
side of most discussions of the school system of the country. But 
the good done by these institutions, and being done every year, is 
incalculable; and while not endowed nor supported by State or 
Church, they have furnished a higher life to many young men and 
women, whose poverty would not alloAv them to enter another insti- 
tution. Tliough charging a small fee as tuition, and holding from 
forty-eight to fifty weeks per year, the yearly expenses of the student 
are not nearly so great as those of other institutions of shorter terms 
and no tuition fees. Because they are thus cheap, and furnish 
courses for those who can attend a college but a short time for a 
line of work of their choice, these independent normals have met a 
great want in the educational interests of the AVest. Their field is 
not that of universities, nor of professional schools wholly, but it 
is as important, — the education of the farmer boy or girl Avho can 
save enough money to attend school one or more years only, or 
simply desires a few months for some special work. 

While many of these schools are of little importance, and others 
make loud and dishonorable professions, yet the leaders are reliable, 
and do all tliey claim for the student. Many a graduate of these 



EDUCATION. 229 

schools has conquered life's diiSiculties manfully alongside the uni- 
versity graduate. Between the state college and endowed institu- 
tion on the one hand, and the independent normal on the other, 
there should be no contention and no comparison; for each has its 
peculiar field, and each has enough to do in that field. 

The private normal has usually two years of Latin work, one 
year of Greek, one year in General History, one in Sciences, one in 
Mathematics above Algebra, one in Philosophy, and a thorough 
course in the common branches. Recently some have added an 
excellent course in Pedagogy and Psychology. The full course is 
four years. 

The originator of the system is President Alfred Holbrook of the 
Lebanon Normal College, Lebanon, Ohio. In 1856 he began his 
own school, and such has been its success that now many institu- 
tions of the same nature and in a prosperous condition exist. The 
charge of sham work is often made against these schools, but with- 
out foundation, as they do what they attempt to do as well as any 
other schools. There are now a half-dozen or more schools in the 
Central States, of national reputation, which are patronized by every 
state in the Union, and enroll more students than the average state 
and endowed schools. The pioneer has been mentioned, and in the 
same state is the Ada Normal. In Indiana are the Northern Indiana 
Normal College at Valparaiso, and Central Normal College at Dan- 
ville ; in Illinois is the Dixon Normal. Many more could be men- 
tioned of true worth, fulfilling a grand purpose, and a great factor 
in the educational progress of these states. In future years when 
the real history of education is written, a prominent space will be 
given to the independent normal school, whose work and field are 
suited one to the other. While all are justly proud of the great 
schools of our different states, and the magnificent men and women 
they give to the world, and while all are truly glad these exist and 
reach so many, yet there is a feeling of pride and gladness that 
there are many poor boys and girls, whose lives are lifted to a higher 
plane and ambition by the humbler though useful independent 
normal college. 



CHAPTER XVIII. 

RELIGION. 

Causes of Emigration — Founding of English Church — Calvinism — 
Virginia — Laws — Clergy — Toleration — Southern Colonies — The 
Wesleys and Whitefield — Methodism — Puritans and Pilgrims — Set- 
aratists — Church Government — New York — Maryland — Quakers 

I — Effect of the Revolution — Organization of Church — Churches of 
the Present. 

lyjEAE. the beginning of the seventeenth century, two facts pro- 
-L 1 nioted emigration from England to America, — the cessation of 
war with Spain, which left the wild sea-fighter without an exciting 
occupation ; and the enforcement of the " Uniformity Act," which 
made it necessary to worship according to the teachings of the 
English Church. Nearly one-half of the people of England were 
affected by the law. The English Church differed very little from 
the Roman Church. Henry VIII. withdrev\^ the church in England 
from the Roman Church in 1534, and because of the spirit of the 
times — the reforming spirit — he was able to establish a new 
Church and make himself its head, the position the pope had held 
until that time. He did not, however, make other material changes. 
This was the founding of the English Church, against which the 
Puritans rebelled, and on account of which some came to this coun- 
try to secure religious freedom. 

The man whom the Puritans revered and whose teachings they 
believed, was not an Englishman, but a Frenchman, John Calvin, 
the most intellectual of the sixteenth century reformers. The five 
points of Calvinism are these : Unconditional Election, Limited 
Atonement, Complete Impotency of the human will, Irresistible 
Grace, and the Perseverance of Believers. America felt tliese doc- 
trines in her religious progress as they were brought to her by the 
Puritan and Pilgrim of England, Huguenot of Prance, Presbyterian 
of Scotland, and the Dutch Kefonned Churchman of Holland. John 

•2\H) 



RELIGION. 231 

Calvin's doctrines controlled a good part of the religious beliefs of 
America all through the colonial days, and even down to the days 
of the Beechers and Channing. 

The contest in England was between the Church of England, 
nearly Catholic, and the principles of Calvin as the Puritans 
accepted them. To them, the Established Church was only a half- 
way reform. Not only did they oppose the English Prayer-Book, 
which they considered a •' covenant with hell " ; but many people 
not religiously inclined, and therefore careless of form, opposed the 
Uniformity Act because it opposed the rights of Englishmen. 

The Church and State of England were planted in the New 
World first in Virginia soil. In 1606 the little band of colonists 
under the military command of John Smith and the spiritual con- 
trol of Robert Hunt, sailed for America. They started for Baleigh's 
old settlement ; but, losing their reckoning, they landed at the pres- 
ent site of Jamestown. By the charter the Church of England was 
made the established worship. The first act on land was to kneel 
while Chaplain Hunt read the prayers and thanksgiving for a safe 
voyage. A church house was built, which is described as " a pen of 
poles with a sail for a roof and a bar lashed between two trees for a 
pulpit." In this rude building the English Church held its first ser- 
vice in America, June 21, 1607. It was an attempt to plant the 
Church as a whole ; but the conditions in America were different 
from those of England. The people were in earnest, however, and 
they received help from England in the way of Bibles, Prayer-Books, 
and communion plates. Missionaries were sent among the Indians 
with good results, but that work was stopped by the massacre of 
1622. 

Non-attendance at church on the Sabbath was punishable by a 
fine. Ministers received tithes, and were forbidden to drink to 
excess, or to play cards. They charged two shillings for perform- 
ing the marriage ceremony, nothing for christening, one shilling for 
churching, and one for officiating at burials. It was their duty to 
present the names of swearers, drunkards. Sabbath-breakers, slan- 
derers, and persons who did not catechise their children to the 
Midsummer Assizes. People dared not speak ill of the magistrate 
or minister. 

As time passed, the clergy of Virginia and the South lost some 
of its ability and purity as a class. Salaries increased to 16,000 
pounds of tobacco per year, besides fees from marriages, etc., and a 



232 INSTITUTIONAL HISTORY OF UNITED STATES. 

parsonage aiul lot. Fonn in worship was as strict a principle as 
ever, but it came to be a hollow mockery, llacing, hunting, card play- 
ing, and revels were important parts of ministerial life. One minis- 
ter fought a duel in the graveyard. Another called to his warden 
at the sacrament, "Here, George, this bread is not fit for a dog." 
Another put in his time during the week thrashing his people in 
regular style, and then preaching to them on Sunday from the text, 
"And I contended with them, and cursed them and smote certain of 
them, and plucked out their hair." Another married in the colony, 
although he had a wife living in England. Of course there were 
good men among the number, but dissenters were numeroiis and the 
Church declined, so that in the days of " '76," when the English 
State fell, the Church went with it. 

Toleration in the colonies followed about the same trend as in 
the mother country. Separatists' meetings were broken up and 
nonconformists were expelled. Catholics and Quakers suffered 
most. The former could not hold office, and the latter were fined, 
imprisoned, or exiled. Under the Restoration this intolerant spirit 
grew more tyrannical. The meetings of the Moravians, New Lights, 
and Baptists were forbidden, and their ministers were imprisoned. 
In spite of all this spirit two-thirds of the people in Virginia were 
dissenters by 1776, a fact for which the Presbyterians were mostly 
responsible. 

The other Southern colonies had a history very much like that 
of Virginia. The Church of England was the established church. 
The Presbyterians were strong and increased rapidly. The people 
were tolerant because they cared little for religious belief. Metho- 
dism was a strong factor in their civilization. It had its origin in 
the Church of England, in 1729. At first it was not the intention 
of the founders, the Wesley brothers and Whitefield, to separate 
from that Church. These three men, while at Oxford College, 
formed a society for the cultivation of piety and for doing good. 
They set apart regular hours for a certain kind of work, such as 
prayer, meditation, reading, visiting almshouses and prisons, etc., 
and because of this rigid living w^ere named Methodists by their 
fellow-students. 

In 1736 John and Charles Wesley came to Georgia as mission- 
aries. Their stay was short, but while there they came into contact 
with some Moravians, or United Brethren, in whom they were 
deeply interested. In the meantime AVhitefield met with the same 



RELIGION. 233 

class of people in England with like effect to himself. The three 
began preaching to the prisoners and lower classes in England, as 
a result of their association with the Moravians. They soon sepa- 
rated from those people, however, and formed the "United Society." 
Never during their whole lives did they intend to leave the Eng- 
lish Church. John Wesley's dying words were, "I live and die 
a member of the English Church." Whitefield and he soon sepa- 
rated, because their beliefs were very different. The former held 
to the Calvinistic doctrines of the " elected " ; and the latter, to the 
Arminian doctrine that atonement is for all, though all may not 
accept. Man may refuse if he wish. 

Georgia was the starting-point of Methodism in this country, 
from which, even in colonial times, it spread to every colony. It 
was the first religious sect to begin its independent life in America. 
It came into the world just when it needed some invigorating spirit. 
The Church of England had sunk to its lowest level, and it seemed 
that the spirit of the Kef ormation had risen only to sink again into 
worse darkness. But with the theory of conscious conversion, 
Wesley and Whitefield furnished just that enthusiasm and energy 
which the religious world needed. When the English Church lost 
the Puritans, it lost its reality ; and when it lost the Quakers, it 
had left no enthusiasm. There was nothing remaining to the 
Established Church but a stagnant pool of Deism. The skeptics — 
Hume, Bolingbroke, and Shaftesbury — were the public teachers of 
the people. The sordid reign of the Georges forgot even the com- 
mon decencies of life. This was the time that a bill was intro- 
duced into Parliament to erase the word " not " from the Ten 
Commandments. How fortunate it was that the leaven of Metho- 
dism was set to work just then ! 

The Wesleys and Whitefield were wonderful preachers. It is 
said that 30,000 people listened to their preaching. Whitefield 
Avould preach all night, and in the morning 10,000 people would still 
be standing earnestly listening. Charles Wesley, the sweet singer, 
tuned their emotion to song ; Whitefield stirred them with his ora- 
tory ; and John Wesley, the great organizer, placed them into classes 
and governments, and sent preachers throughout half the world. In 
the lifetime of these three men Methodism spread into Scotland, Ire- 
land, West Indies, France, and America. In 1767 the first Metho- 
dist Society in America was organized in New York. 

The bishop of London was asked by Wesley to send a bishop to 



234 INSTITUTIONAL HISTORY OF UNITED STATES. 

the American colonies. He refused to do so. On that refusal origi- 
nated the Methodist Church. "Wesley ordained Uvo men, and sent 
them as superintendents of the Methodists in America. They, in 
spite of Wesley's advice and anathemas, took upon themselves the 
office of bishop, and led out 100,000 souls from the English Church. 
By its own weight Methodism broke the tie between itself and the 
English Church. The result may be read in the Methodist Church 
of to-day, perhaps the leading church in influence, and certainly more 
perfectly organized than any other Protestant church. 

The Pilgrims were those Puritans who left the English Church. 
The name "Pilgrim" was given from their wandering disposition, 
as they lirst went to Holland, and afterwards came to America. 
They made the second move not so much for religious freedom, for 
that Holland gave them, but to establish English customs, and to 
give to their children the English language, education, and ideas of 
liberty in their purity. In itself the little band had not much influ- 
ence, as it grew slowly and prospered poorly. P)ut it became a i)art 
of the Puritan colony and with that colony did its share of good 
work in the New World. Their form of worship was Congrega- 
tionalism. 

The Puritans settled Massachusetts Bay Colony. They were 
not Separatists, but desired to reform the English Church. There 
were 250 persons in the settlement at first. Coming as they did, 
so loyal to the Church, why should they so soon leave it ? In truth, 
it was only one step from the Puritan to the Separatist. As an 
Englishman, the Puritan loved freedom in all things. He did nut 
like the English theory of Church and State, and it did not take 
him long to leave both when oOOO miles of water lay between him 
and them. 

The growth of the Puritan colony was rapid and prosperous. 
They were the Israelites in a ])romised land. Church membership 
was necessary to citizenship, and Catholics and Quakers were denied 
the colony. The Sabbath began at six o'clock Saturday night, and 
lasted until sunset on Sunday. It was forbidden to sweep, cook, or 
shave on that day, and mothers were advised not to kiss their chil- 
dren then. A Frenchman, a soldier in the Kevolution, was heard 
playing the flute on Sunday, and it was by hard work that he was 
saved from harm at the hands of the angry citizens. Whii)ping was 
the punishment for being absent from worship; banishment, for 
questioning the truth of the Bible ; and having the tongue placed in 



RELIGION. 235 

a split stick, for speaking ill of the minister. Travelers were not 
entertained on Sunday, and the taverns were closed Saturday even- 
ing and remained so until Sunday evening. The Puritans required 
the best of order. One girl was threatened with banishment for 
smiling in church. Sermons were from two to five hours long and 
prayer from one to two hours. The music was congregational sing- 
ing, and the people strongly resisted the system of singing by note. 
Either the drum or the horn called the people to church, to which 
all went armed. 

The government of the Puritan church was by the members. 
They chose the x^astor, lecturers, elders, and deacons. Synods were 
held at irregular intervals to advise as to the general good, but they 
never interfered in the control of local churches. 

All that has been said of Massachusetts will apply to Connecti- 
cut, except it was less tolerant than Massachusetts. New Hamp- 
shire was the same as Massachusetts. Rhode Island introduced a 
new principle in both the government and religion of the world. 
Its founder, Eoger Williams, boldly proclaimed that the Church and 
State are, by nature and purpose, separate, and that a man's con- 
science should be his only dictator in religious matters. In 1639 he 
was baptized at Providence. He in turn baptized ten persons, and 
then and there established the Baptist Church in this country. He 
favored that church because it had already declared that con- 
science should be man's guide in religious matters. The Baptist 
Church was the principal chvirch in Rhode Island, and was congre- 
gational in government. 

New York also gave us a new church at the beginning of the seven- 
teenth century. The Dutch belonged to the Dutch Reform Church 
of Holland. They were the most tolerant people on the continent 
or in the world. New York, under the Dutch, gave absolute reli- 
gious freedom from the beginning. There every human being had 
a home. The first Jew in the country was in New York. The 
Lutherans, Puritans, Presbyterians, Huguenots, and Quakers all lived 
in the colony undisturbed, except while Stuy vesant was governor, who 
for a short time persecuted the Quakers and Lutherans ; but the 
people did not aid him nor sympathize with him. 

In 1692 the Assembly of the colony divided the province into 
parishes, and made an assessment to sustain the public worship. 
It also placed it in the governor's hand to nominate a "Worthy 
Protestant Minister " in each parish. The governor took advantage 



236 INSTITUTIONAL HISTORY OF UNITED STATES. 

of this to nominate a minister of the English Church in each, an act 
Avhich the Dutch did not resent. Thus was established the Church 
of England in New York. The Huguenots and Swedes also had 
churches there. The former were French Protestants and were 
more numerous in North Carolina, while the latter were followers of 
Luther and had their principal church in New Jersey. The Hugue- 
nots and the Dutch were followers of Calvin and governed them- 
selves by presbyters. 

For a long time it depended entirely on the sovereign as to 
whether the Catholics or Protestants w^ere persecuted in England. 
Tf the king or queen were a Protestant, the Catholics were perse- 
cuted ; if a Catholic, the Protestants were. Since most of the rulers 
Avere Protestant, the Catholics suffered most. Because of this Lord 
Baltimore desired to found a home where they could worship in 
their own faith without harm. The territory granted him was 
called Maryland, of which I^ancroft wrote "there, in 1G34, religious 
liberty obtained a home, its only home, in the wide world." But 
this is often a disputed point and one not easy to settle. It is too 
true of the Catholics of that century, as it was of other religious 
sects, that toleration was unknown. Cotton Mather said, " Tolera- 
tion is a doctrine of the devil," and it was so looked upon by all the 
world except Holland. At that time there was but one people who 
Ijelieved in absolute religious freedom, and that Avas the Dutch. In 
the seventeenth century no other sect, Protestant or Catholic, can 
lay claim to this distinction. So if any colony, except the Dutch 
colony of New York, gave religious freedom in this country, it was 
for causes foreign to its real principles. 

The Catholic Church can justly lay no claim to toleration in 
Maryland, just as the Protestant Church cannot in Ehode Island ; 
for both churches believed in intolerance, and practiced it where 
they dared. Calvert received his charter from a Protestant king 
who acted under the advice of a Protestant council. This council 
gave up its OAvn claims that Calvert might have the territory. He 
sought first to make a settlement in Newfoundland, but his brothers 
in religion, the French, would not permit him to do so. It would 
seem, then, that Calvert was under greater obligation to the Protes- 
tant king than to the Catholic Church. This is further shown by 
the clause in the charter, Avhich provided that all churches should 
be dedicated and consecrated according to the ecclesiastical laws 
of tlic kingdom of England, and that all laws should be intrr- 



RELIGION. 287 

preted to the advantage of Lord Baltimore, provided always that no 
interpretation was made by which " God's holy and truly Christian 
religion shall suffer." The king was a Protestant, and the Church 
of England taught his " Holy and truly Christian religion." Calvert 
could not have done otherwise than give freedom of worship to all. 

The Protestants soon outnumbered the Catholics in Maryland. 
There was no obstacle in the way of Protestant worship, but all 
official advantage was given to Eome. After the Restoration, the 
Protestants asked for and received all the offices of the province 
from the king. After 1G90 the royal rule was established most of 
the time, during which the Catholics were persecuted severely. In 
1700 there were about 22,000 inhabitants in Maryland, nine-tenths 
of whom were Protestants. The Church of England was established 
by law, and forty pounds of tobacco were assessed each house- 
holder for its support. The ministry was poor in morals and ability, 
and the people petitioned the London bishop for more and better 
ministers, signing themselves Protestant-Catholics. After the Eng- 
lish Church was established affairs were about the same as in other 
colonies having the same church. 

The seventeenth century was an age of dreams and visions, and 
the people were poorly satisfied with the old Church, in which sal- 
vation was so mixed with creed and form that the common people 
could not understand it. It was such a time as this that George 
Fox proclaimed, that man shoidd find God withiu himself ; that the 
spirit of God bears witness with man's spirit; and that the "Inner 
Light " is the sole guide to follow. These were so simple that the 
people, starving for spirit, accepted them eagerly. Because they 
feared and quaked when the light shone within them, they were 
called Quakers. Every man's hand was against them, persecution 
drove them mad, and like madmen they roamed over the civilized 
Avorld. 

The Quakers bearded kings and rulers, priests and monks, all 
persons of dignity and influence, and bore their testimony before 
them. They were fairly crazed for persecution, and sought it in 
every form. They broke into jails; clamored to be hung; and 
suffered the severest persecutions with ecstatic joy. Women, naked, 
Avalked the streets of New England towns, and entered churches 
smeared with soot and filth. Five thousand Quakers Avere placed in 
jail at one time, and made to suffer ducking, cropping of ears, mob- 
bing, and pelting with stones ; they were laid in the stocks, shut up 



238 INSTITUTIONAL HISTORY OF UNITED STATES. 

in mad-houses, and hanged. Their fanaticism finally ran its course, 
but because of it the Quakers became marked people and were per- 
secuted everywhere. Their mistake was that the spirit only was 
worthy of care. They denounced the sacrament, and in other ways 
placed themselves in opposition to all other Christian sects. l>ut 
time has taught the woi-ld the real worth of the Quakers, and now, 
it, once so ready to persecute them, accords them universal respect 
and esteem, which they have won by an upright, honorable exist- 
ence. Their church government was congregational, and they gave 
freedom of worship to all Christians. 

America became the goal for this persecuted sect. In 1073 Fox 
himself came over to choose a home for them. He made a tour 
from Maine to South Carolina, and was received everywhere, except 
in Massachusetts, as one sent by God. He bought the western half 
of Southern New Jersey for $5000, and in 1675 sent over a settle- 
ment which landed at Salem. They fashioned their own govern- 
ment, making religious liberty the corner-stone ; and resolved to 
persecute no one, not even to act in their own defense. 

"There," says Bancroft, "met the first legislative body in the 
world, who said thee and thou to all men, and wore their hats in 
presence of beggar and king." This little colony remained at Salem 
in quiet peace and happiness until it was merged into the larger 
colony of Penn's. 

In point of numbers the Quakers have never been very success- 
ful. By a provision of the charter twenty members, by signing a 
petition, could institute the English Church in their locality, and in 
this way many joined the English Church. However, the sect have 
added many noble principles to our civilization, and have taught the 
world many valuable lessons. They were more tolerant, had fewer 
laws on moral (piestions, and observed them better than most others 
did. 

The Kevolutiou destroyed the English Church in America. 
The Church and State had stood together, therefore they fell to- 
gether. After the war, reorganization was necessary, for the Church 
had much property and wealth, besides the love of many people. 
The Northern, Middle, and Southern colonists differed over the 
disposition of the wealth. Virginia and Maryland tried to save the 
property in their boundaries by forming the Protestant Episcojjal 
Church in 1783 ; but in the final adjtistment of the relation of 
Church and State in America the Church lost much of its property. 



RELIGION. 239 

In New England the people cared nothing for the property, but a 
great deal for the Church. The clergy met in secret conventions, 
and decided that they must form, not an independent Episcopal 
Church, as the South did, but an Episcopal Church in direct line 
from the regular Church. It was determined to send a man to 
Europe to be ordained by London bishops. As the people then saw 
it, the journey would have an uncertain effect. Would the people 
own allegiance to an English Church if not to an English king? 
Would the London bishop ordain a bishop for the rebellious coun- 
try? Both questions were hard to answer. Dr. Seabury was 
chosen to make the journey, and to return to Connecticut if the 
people would allow. If they would not, he was to go to some other 
state ; and if not allowed anywhere within the confines of the United 
States, he was to make Nova Scotia his home, and from there super- 
intend church matters in the New World. As expected, the London 
bishop absolutely refused to ordain a bishop for America. But 
there was hope yet. Over in Scotland the Episcopalian Church 
existed, despised by the Scotch Presbyterians and the Churchmen 
of England because of its allegiance to the old Stuart line of kings. 
There went Seabury, and was ordained by the Scotch Episcopalian 
bishop. He returned to Connecticut, in 1784, and organized the 
American Episcopal Church. 

The IVIlddle Colonies held to another plan of organization, the 
Federal, in which Pennsylvania was the leader. A call was issued 
for delegates to meet in New York. This was before Seabury had 
returned from England, therefore Connecticut took no active part. 
The convention met to form a Federal Constitutional Church. It 
had, however, only advisory power, so a new convention was called 
for September, 1785, to meet at Philadelphia. Seven states re- 
sponded. Connecticut again declined, and Massachusetts sent a 
letter. 

Here met the two great ideas of church control in America, — the 
Episcopal idea of New England, and the Federal of the Middle 
Colonies. New England claimed that there could be no church 
without first a bishop, and that there could be no bishop save one 
ordained by an English Church bishop. The Middle Colonies 
claimed, that any half-dozen of the clergy could ordain a bishop. 
The tAvo factions separated, and New England Avent on as described 
above, Avhile the Middle Colonies proceeded to organize the Federal 
System of Avorship. A National Representative body Avas provided 



240 INSTITUTIONAL HISTORY OF UNITED STATES. 

for to act as an upper house in government, and the clergy and 
members were to act as a lower house. The English Prayer-Book 
was changed to suit the politics and government of America, and 
then was used as the liturgy. Instead of praying for the king, the 
church prayed for the President and Congress, and instead of recog- 
nizing English holidays, it recognized the Fourth of July. Thus 
the third principle, or the Federal Episcopal Church, began its 
career in 178G. It was strengthened by John Adams, who induced 
the London archbishop to ordain two American bishops. 

There were two Episcopal Churches in America after 178G, — the 
Federal and English. They were too much alike, and yet too differ- 
ent, to exist in harmony. A long and hard struggle was carried on 
between them. Connecticut relented enough to allow the bishop's 
decision to be overruled by four-fifths of the members, if they so 
desired, and the Middle Colonies accepted the compromise. The 
two churches thus became one in 1789, the year in which the con- 
stitutional government began. They remained so until the Civil 
War, when the South formed a separate church. After the War 
they again united. 

The congregational idea of church government was strongest, in 
America, with the Puritans, with whom it had its origin. The Uni- 
tarians interfered with the system in New England, which fact 
caused the call of a general synod at Boston, in 18G5. Now every 
three years the Congregationalists hold a national council. 

The Baptist Church has steadily increased in spite of oi)i)osition. 
From it have been formed the Freewill Baptists, organized in 1780 
in New Hampshire; the Dunkards, in Germany in 1708; the 
Seventh-Day Baptists, in 1719 ; and the Campbellites, in 1830. 
The last absorbed the Christians who were organized about 1800. 
The great Baptist Church is the mother of all these sects. 

The Eeforni Episcopal Church seceded from the Protestant Epis- 
copal in 1873, claiming greater freedom in form of worship. As the 
Protestant Episcopal Church is really the Catholic Church under 
Protestant principles, it has always fought giving too much power 
to laymen. 

The Presbyterians from France mostly united with other churches 
and formed no permanent church of their own. In 1705 the first 
Presbytery was formed in Philadelpliia, and the first synod was lield 
in 171G. The Presb^'terian ( -hurch of the colonies increased steadily 
until the Revolution, and its members were earnest helpers in that 



RELIGION. 241 

movement. In 1789 the constitution of the Natural Presbyterian 
Church was formed, and its first general assembly was held. The 
church was made up of Scotch and Irish, who afterwards differed on 
questions of liberty and politics and divided into the " Old School " 
and the "New School," the Scots forming the "Old," and the Irish, 
the " New." They were united again in 1869. 

The Cumberland Presbyterian Church had its origin in 1797. It 
seceded from the Old Church because of its Calviuistic doctrines 
of predestination and limited atonement. The United Presbyterian 
Church is a union of the Associate Reformed and Associate Church. 
The former was made up of two branches, one from each the Irish 
and Scotch Presbyterians. The Irish branch was called Associate 
Church ; and the Scotch, the Eeformed. They joined under the 
name of Associate Reformed Church in 1858. The Associate Pres- 
byterians is that part of the Associate Church that refused to join 
the imion made with the Reformed Church in 1858. A branch of 
the Associate Reformed Church refuse to vote because the United 
States Constitution does not mention God. The Reformed Church 
of to-day is the outgrowth of the Dutch Reform Church of New 
York of which we have spoken. 

The Lutherans made their first organization in America in 1748, 
and have had a steady growth. They have also divided. The Ger- 
man Reformed Church was organized in Pennsylvania in 1747. The 
INIethodist Church was begun as given above. The United Brethren 
Church Avas organized in the middle of the eighteenth century, and is 
like the Methodist in its government. The Moravians began their 
existence in Pennsylvania in 1740. The Quakers divided, in 1828, 
into Hicksite and Orthodox churches, both of which are prosperous. 
The Hicksite or New Church is the most progressive. 

There were 143 Christian sects in the United States in 1890, 
numbering about 25,000,000 members. The Catholics led, with a 
membership of 6,257,871 persons ; the Methodists were second, with 
4,589,284; the Baptists third, with 3,712,468; the Presbyterians 
fourth, with 1,278,332. The Lutherans numbered 1,231,072 persons ; 
Disciples of Christ or Christian Church, nearly 600,000; United 
Brethren, 225,281 ; Friends, 107,208 ; Dunkards, 73,795 ; Episcopa- 
lians, 545,509 ; Mormons, 50,000 ; Universalists, 40,000 ; Unitarians, 
20,000; Jesuits, 15,000. The other denominations numbered from 
1000 to 100,000 people each. There are more than 70,000,000 people 
in the United States and nearly one-third belong to some church. 

R 



242 INSTITUTIONAL HISTORY OF UNITED STATES. 

The Sunday-school, or First-day school, was begun early in the 
history of New England. Good men then were much opposed to 
such a school. To hold school on Sunday was desecrating the Sab- 
bath, it was thought. A Sunday-school was organized in Philadel- 
phia in 1791. Some benevolent men of that city formed the design 
of teaching the children of the poor ; but those children were forced 
to work on week days, so that the school was opened on Sundays. 
For this reason it was decided that the pupils should be taught to 
read and write from the Bible or other moral books. In 1790 the 
Methodist Conference resolved to open schools on Sunday for the 
poor. A few months later the Universalists, in a conference at Phila- 
delphia, recommended each of their churches to establish schools on 
Sunday where the poor could learn to read, write, cipher, and sing 
psalms. 

The Sunday-school Society of Philadelphia was organized by 
Dr. Rush in 1791. He was assisted by an Episcopalian minister 
and a Catholic priest. It was the intention to organize Sunday- 
schools independent of any church. The result of this was, that, in 
March of 1791, the first non-sectarian Sunday-school in the country 
began, and it prospered so much that a second one was started in 
May of the same year. Soon a third one was organized, Avhich re- 
ported three hundred and twenty pupils in attendance, and which 
in three years taught five hundred children to read. These schools 
took the place, among the poor, of day schools in many places ; but 
since the advantages of day schools are so near every door, the 
Sunday-school has taken on itself the special work of teaching the 
Bible. 

Samuel John Mills of Connecticut is the father of Missions in 
America. He entered Williams College in 180G, where he formed 
a band of students whose purpose it was to study the subject of 
missionary societies for work in America. Mills and a friend took 
a tour through the Mississippi valley in 1813, and found a sad con- 
dition of affairs. There were many places without preachers or wor- 
ship of any kind. The Methodist Church had circuit riders through 
these wilds, but not nearly all the people were reached. The Bap- 
tists also took much interest in missionary work, but the other 
churches paid little attention to it. INfills and his friend formed 
Bible societies at different places on their journey, but found the 
people so wicked that it seemed nothing could be done. This con- 
dition aroused Eastern churches to a new purpose, and missionaries 



RELIGION. 243 

were sent into the West to preach and to found Bible societies. 
The National Bible Society was organized, and in five years placed 
140,000 Bibles into homes. The same society turned its attention 
to the condition of the slave and free negro in the South, and the 
result was the Colonization Society, and the purchase and colonizing 
of Liberia. 

The work of church societies and missionary organizations would 
fill a volume. In this day of strong organization and intense inter- 
est, the good accomplished by churches is incomparably greater than 
back in times described ; but the present advantages and great work 
are all because of the work in the primitive period of our institutions. 



CHAPTER XIX. 

JOURNALISM. 

Beginning — Boston News Letter — Boston Gazette — Mercury — Frank- 
lins — New York — South Revolutionary Tapers — Restrict the Tress 

— West Cincinnati Tapers — Indiana — Chicago — Courier — Journal 

— St. Louis — Philadelphia — Baltimore — Washington — Boston — 
New York. 

THE beginning of journalism in America is as crude as that of 
any other institution. Our lirst newspaper was printed in 
1G90. It was issued but once, and then ceased by authority of the 
legislature of the colony. It was entitled "Public Occurrences," 
and was to have been a monthly paper. This was the only attempt 
to publisli a paper until 1704, when the colonial press really began. 
It was much limited in thought both by political and religious 
authority, so it confined its pages mostly to statements of mere facts; 
consequently it did not influence the country much. 

On Monday, April 24, 1704, the Boston News Letter was issued 
for the first time by the postmaster of the city. It was a weekly 
paper containing advertisements and news of the day. The price 
was reasonable and had to be arranged with the publisher, as no 
subscription price was printed. This paper lived seventy-two years. 

The Boston Gazette was issued in 1719 and was the third news- 
paper in the country. It was published by the postmaster also. 
There was much rivalry between the Gazette and News Letter. 
The latter said of the former that " its sheets smelled stronger of 
beer than midnight oil." 

The American Weekly Mercury was the fourth newspaper, and 
was first published in Philadelphia the 22d of December, 1719. 
During a session of the Colonial Assembly the editor published the 
following remark, "Our General Assembly is now in session and we 
have great expectations from them, at this juncture, that they will 
find some effectual remedy to revive the dying credit of this Prov- 
ince." The editor was immediately summoned before the Assembly 

244 



JOURNALISM. 245 

and made to apologize. What would the modern editor think of 
such restrictions I 

Now came the era of the Franklins, who made the time famous 
for journalism. James Franklin began publishing the iSTe'w Eng- 
land Courant in 1721. It was the fifth newspaper in the country. 
The Franklins were often at war with the assemblies. Their papers 
originated that bold, independent style which characterizes the news- 
paper of to-day. But they had to suffer the consequences of their 
boldness. James Franklin was frequently arrested and thrown into 
prison. The staff of the Courant were free thinkers, free writers, 
very free talkers, and were often in trouble with religious as well 
as political authorities. The Mathers called the Franklins the 
"Hell Fire Club," and James Franklin was forbidden to publish 
the paper in 1722. Benjamin Franklin then became the j)ublisher. 
He was even more bold than his brother had been, and fought the 
great battle for a free press in America. 

The year 1725 marks the birth of journalism in New York. The 
first paper was the New York Gazette, which was published weekly. 
The Maryland Gazette began its existence in 1727. From this on 
many newspapers were started, of which the Weekly Kehearsal, of 
Boston, and the New York Weekly, were the most noted. There 
were two German papers in Pennsylvania. 

In the South during this period journalism was much the same 
as in the North. In 1731 the South Carolina Gazette was first issued 
and continued about one year. The first paper in Virginia was the 
Virginia Gazette, published in Williamsburg in 1736. 

By the time of the Revolution, Boston, New York, PhiladeliDhia, 
Annapolis, Williamsburg, and Charleston had the only newspapers. 
These newspaper centers became the Revolutionar}- centers, and the 
newspaper offices became the home of independent clubs whose 
object was to maintain liberty. Men of great ability began to speak 
in unconfined terms of English tyranny. As early as 1748 the papers 
took a revolutionary policy. In that year Samuel Adams began the 
Independent Advertiser, and his helpers were young men of rebel 
sympathies and tendencies. The paper was free both in thought 
and word. Frequently its editors were put into jail for bold state- 
ments concerning public officers. 

But the paper that was really the Revolutionary organ from first 
to last was the Boston Gazette and Country Gentleman, first issued 
in 1755. Its decorations were two cuts: one, an Indian with a 



246 INSTITUTIONAL HISTORY OF UNITED STATES. 

drawn bow and arrow; the other, Great Britain liberating a bird 
confined by a cord to the arms of France. Samuel Adams, tlie head 
and brains of the paper, May hew, Otis, John Adams, Warren, etc., 
Avere contributors to this sheet; and since all these soon became 
ardent rebels, one can easily guess the nature of their contributions. 
They were, indeed, the "Real Bunker Hill Monument of history." 
In 17C0 the cut on the Gazette was changed. " Britain " was omitted 
and "Minerva," holding in her left hand a spear surmounted witli 
the cap of liberty, was inserted. She was seated near a pedestal, 
on which was a cage, and was represented as freeing an imprisoned 
bird which was in the act of tiying towards the Tree of Liberty. 
This device circulated over the country fifteen years before Lexing- 
ton and Concord became historic. The paper was always the fear- 
less organ of the Whig party, and opposed the Stamp Act and all 
following acts of wrong and oppression. 

The North Carolina Gazette, 1755; New Hampshire Gazette, 
1756, which is still published and is the oldest paper in America; 
the Boston Weekly Advertiser, 1757; South Carolina and American 
General Gazette, 1758; the Newport Mercury, 1758, which is yet 
published ; the New London Summary, 1758 ; Wilmington Courant, 
17()1; Providence Gazette, 1762; Georgia Gazette, 1763; and the 
Connecticut Courant, 1764, still in publication, — were all important 
papers during the Revolutionary period. Between 1718 and 1776 
papers were started in all the colonies, and the tendency of all was 
towards independence. 

During the Revolution paper became very scarce. Paper-mills 
were started, and appeals were made to the people to save every old 
rag or any material that could be made into paper. Rags were col- 
lected by a bell cart. Because paper was so scarce, many papers 
were not published very regularly. Many times all positions on 
the paper were filled by one man, who was owner, publisher, printer, 
folder, typesetter, distributer, etc. 

After the Revolution a great field of politics opened to the press 
which, with the fruits of the victories it had won under the dark 
cloud of oppression and war, took charge of the political world. No 
more was the printer fined or dragged to prison; no more did legis- 
lative bodies dictate limitations and fields of labor; but the press, 
free as the voice of liberty, flung its unbound thoughts to the world. 

The prominent papers wliich came out of the hardships of the 
Revolution were the New Hampshire Gazette, New York Journal, 



JOURNALISM. 247 

Boston Gazette, Newport Mercury, Connecticut Courant, Pennsyl- 
vania Gazette, and a few others. These took up the fight on the 
Constitution, pro and con, and their contests were often bitter. 
Tlie most vindictive Lmguage was usetl, which sometimes led to 
duels. Indeed, it is very doubtful whether the present newspapers 
are nearly as abusive as those of the beginning of the century. The 
daily paper started during this critical period of our history, when 
men were trying to change the government. The American Daily 
Advertiser was first published in 1784, in Philadelphia, and was 
the first of its kind. The New York Daily Advertiser began in 
1785. 

The first attempt to limit the freedom of the press in the National 
Period was the Sedition law, passed in 1798. There were then 
nearly two hundred papers in the country, and about twenty-five 
were owned by aliens, who, with many others, were opposed to the 
administration and bitterly attacked it. The law was very unpopu- 
lar and was repealed. Never since has there been any attempt to 
limit the expression of the press in this country. 

The origin and development of journalism in the West was as 
remarkable as in the East. As early as 1793 the Sentinel of the 
Northwest Territory was founded at Cincinnati, Ohio, by William 
Maxwell, the second postmaster of that city. This was the first 
paper in the territory. It was afterwards removed to Chillicothe. 
The Sciota Gazette was started at Chillicothe in 1796, and is still 
published. In 1789 the National Eepublican and Ohio Political 
Register was first issued. 

The Cincinnati Gazette began life in 1806 as a weekly paper. 
It became a semi-weekly in 1819, and a daily in 1827. It was a 
Whig paper after 1825, and has always been Anti-Democratic. The 
Commercial was first printed in Cincinnati, in 1843, and was con- 
solidated with the Gazette in 1883. They were published then as 
one paper, under the name Commercial-Gazette. It is one of the 
large and influential papers of the country. Pive thousand men, 
women, and children make up its working corps. The printing is 
done on a large Hoe press, which prints, cuts, and folds 96,000 papers 
per hour. The Tribune has recently been united to the Commercial- 
Gazette, which is now called the Commercial-Tribune. 

The Cincinnati Whig had its origin in 1831; it changed its name 
to the Times, in 1841. The Chronicle, organized in 1868, bought 
the Times in 1871, and took the name of the latter. The Star was 



248 INSTITUTIONAL IHSTOEY OF UNITED STATES. 

first printed in 1872, and consolidated with the Times in 1880. It 
then took the name Times-Star. The Western Spy was started 
in Cincinnati in 1803. Sometime afterwards it changed its name 
to the Observer, and in 1834 took the name Enquirer, Avhich name 
it still holds. In 1846 the Enquirer office was burned, destroying 
the early records, so that little is known of its history previous to 
that time. At present the Cincinnati Enquirer is probably the 
greatest paper in the Ohio valley, and is worth millions of dollars 
to its owners, chief of whom is John K. McClean. 

The first paper printed in Indiana was published at Vincennes in 
1808. The leading papers of the state now are The News, Journal, 
and Sentinel published in Indianapolis. The News was first issued 
December 7, 18G9. It was a four-page, six-column paper, 15 by 
20 inches in size. It was then published in the Sentinel office, and 
had a circulation of only 1200 copies daily. Now it has a large 
new building of its own, three presses, all the modern conveniences 
for printing, and a circulation of 31,000 copies daily. 

The Indianapolis Sentinel was first published in 1822 under the 
name Gazette. It was the pioneer paper of Indianapolis. lu 1841, 
under the name Sentinel, it became a daily. In 1865 the name was 
changed to Herald, but was changed back to Sentinel in 1868. It 
is now one of the great papers of the state, and has a daily, weekly, 
and Sunday edition. 

The Indianapolis Journal is a descendant of the Western Censor 
and Emigrant's Guide, which was established in 1823. It soon 
became a semi-weekly with a weekly edition. It was then printed 
on a hand-press. The name Journal was given the paper in 1825. 
From 1842 until 1850 it published daily issues during the session of 
the state legislature. Its first daily, printed by the steam-press, 
appeared on the day that the State Constitutional Convention met, 
October 7, 1850. In 1886 the Journal bought the Indianapolis 
Times. It now has two Hoe printing presses, which print 16,000 
papers each per hour, and uses the typesetting machine, with other 
modern conveniences. 

Chicago has many great newspapers, of which two of the most 
prominent are the Tribune and Chronicle. The Tribune Avas first 
issued in 1847, and issued then only 400 copies. In July, 1850, 
the Democratic Press consolidated with the Tribune. The latter 
has been the leading paper in reducing the price of Chicago dailies 
to one cent per copy. 



JOURNALISM. 249 

The Chicago Chronicle was organized in May, 1895, and was 
begun because there was no leading Democratic daily in the city. 
It already has a daily circulation of nearly 100,000 copies and a 
Sunday edition of 125,000. The Chicago Times and Chicago Herald 
were consolidated in 1895 under the name Times-Herald. The 
paper was soon sold to Mr. Kohlsaat and became an Independent 
Republican paper. This left Chicago without a Democratic paper, 
so the Chronicle was organized. 

A very popular paper throughout the entire country is the 
Courier- Journal, of Louisville, Kentucky. Its owner, Henry Wat- 
terson, is one of the leading journalists of the day, and is respected 
by all for his fearless stand on all public questions. In 1876 a New 
York paper in speaking of Louisville said, " Louisville is situated 
on the south bank of the Ohio River and is significant for nothing, 
except that it is the place where the Courier- Journal is printed." 
George D. Prentice went to Kentucky from Connecticut to write 
the life of Henry Clay. He founded the Louisville Journal in 1830. 
It was National Republican, or Whig, in politics. The Daily Dime 
was organized in 1843; it changed its name to Courier in 1844. 
Because of its rebellious sentiments, it was seized by the Federal 
authorities in 1861. Then the publishers moved to Bowling Green, 
Kentucky, and continued the paper. From there it was driven to 
Nashville. When Nashville fell, the paper ceased until after the 
War. Mr. Haldeman was the publisher then and desired to enter 
the Confederate army, but was persuaded by Generals A. S. Johns- 
ton and Simon Buckner to edit a Confederate paper. 

Henry Watterson, during a part of the War, was a reporter for 
the Nashville Banner *and the Chattanooga Rebel. He soon became 
known in editorial circles as a very brilliant man, though only 
twenty-one years old. After the War the Louisville Journal found 
little sympathy in the South, as it was Republican in politics, and 
slowly lost its prestige. In 1868 Watterson began editing it and 
quickly revived its former popularity. On November 8, 1868, the 
Journal and Courier consolidated under the name Courier-Journal, 
with Henry Watterson as chief. As late as 1881 it was but a four- 
page paper. It now is printed at the rate of 72,000 eight-page 
papers per hour. 

St. Louis has two great papers, — the St. Louis Republic and the 
Globe -Democrat. The former is a Democratic paper, and the latter 
is Republican. 



250 INSTITUTIONAL HISTORY OF UNITED STATES. 

The Republic had its origin in 1808, and no radical change has 
ever been made in its ownership. The heirs of its founders are still 
in charge. It was first issued under the name Missouri Gazette, 
then Louisiana Gazette, then Missouri Gazette again, then Missouri 
Republican, St. Louis Republican, and St. Louis Republic, its pres- 
ent name. From 1808 to 1833 it was a weekly paper; from 1833 to 
1836, semi-weekly ; and since 1836, daily. The Sunday issue was 
added in 1848. 

The Globe-Democrat is a consolidation of the Missouri Demo- 
crat and the Globe. The Democrat was first issued in 1852 on 
Democratic principles and was a follower of Benton. When the 
Republican party was organized in 1854, in Philadelphia, the paper 
adopted Republican principles and has since been of that party. It 
absorbed the Union in 1853. In 1872 the Democrat was sold l)y 
order of the Court and brought $456,000. The Globe was started 
in 1872 by former partners of the Democrat, and in 1875 these two 
men bought the Democrat and consolidated the two papers under 
the name Globe-Democrat. It is Republican in politics. 

One of the great papers of the South is the Atlanta Constitution. 
It was first printed in 1868 under the name Constitution. Its 
daily circulation is 20,000; Sunday, 30,000; and weekly, 160,000. 
It is Democratic in politics. 

The Public Ledger of Philadelphia was established in 1836. It 
is a daily, and is sometimes called the Philadelphia Bible. George 
W. Childs became its editor and proprietor in 1864, and remained 
so nntil his death in 1894. When he bought the Ledger, it was 
losing f 480 each issue, about $150,000 per year. It immediately 
became a paying paper and Mr. Childs made millions out of it, most 
of which he gave away, though he died very wealthy. Tlie Phila- 
delphia Record was first issued in 1877. It now has a circulation 
of 150,000 copies daily. The North American of Philadelpliia 
claims to be the oldest daily paper in the United States. It Avas first 
published as a daily in 1784, one hundred and twelve years ago, and 
was then called the Pennsylvania Packet and American Daily Adver- 
tiser, but it was issued as a weekly in 1771. It was then called the 
Pennsylvania Packet and General Advertiser, and Avas a small folio 
sheet of three columns, 9 by 15 inches. When the British army had 
possession of Philadelphia, 1777-78, the paper was printed at Lan- 
caster. It is now a great and flourisliing paper. 

The Baltimore Sun was founded in 1837. Its plant has a print- 



JOUKNALISM. 251 

ing capacity of 96,000 papers per hour. The Herald of the same 
city has a circulation of 30,000 daily. The Washington Evening 
Star was founded in 1853; its first issue was only 800 copies. It 
now has a circulation of 50,000 papers daily. The Washington 
Post began in 1877, and has become a prominent newspaper. 

The two great Boston papers are the Journal and Transcript. 
The former was founded in 1833 and now has a daily circulation of 
60,000 copies. The latter was founded in 1830 and has a wide 
circulation. 

I can mention but a few of the great New York papers. The 
Sun was first published in 1833. It is the paper of the great editor, 
Dana. From 1860 to 1861 it was a religious daily paper. It has 
always been a daily, and was run also as a weekly from 1836 to 
1895. A Sunday edition was begun in 1875. 

The New York World is a marvelous paper. It was organized 
in 1883 and now has a daily circulation of 500,000 papers. This is 
an unprecedented growth in the newspaper world. The work and 
expense of getting out one issue of such a paper is enormous. The 
reporters will number into the thousands, and are scattered all over 
the world. The paper is sent into the press-room in great rolls a 
yard wide and from three to five miles long. To put out a single 
edition of the World would require from 300 to 400 such rolls. In 
other words, it requires about 1000 miles of paper one yard wide to 
put out one edition. This paper would stretch across the state of 
Indiana nearly five times. From these figures the reader may get 
some idea of the immense labor and cost represented by any one of 
our great dailies. From 1000 to 5000 newsboys are engaged on a 
single paper. In spite of all this army of labor scattered through- 
out the world, the great daily lies on our breakfast tables every 
morning anywhere within a radius of 300 miles from its central 
office. The modern newspaper is the wonder of our wonderful age. 

The New York Tribune was founded by the greatest editor of 
the century, Horace Greeley, in 1841. In that year he was editing 
the Log Cabin, a weekly paper of the Whig faith. In one issue 
of the Log Cabin appeared this notice : " On Saturday, 10th day of 
April, 1841, the subscriber will publish the first number of a new 
Morning Journal of politics, literature, and general intelligence. 

"The Tribune, as its name imports, will labor to advance the 
interests of the people, and to promote their moral, social, and 
intellectual well-being. The immoral and degrading police reports, 



252 INSTITUTIONAL HISTORY OF UNITED STATES. 

advertisements, and other matter, which have been allowed to dis- 
grace the columns of our leading Penny Papers will be carefully 
excluded from this, and no exertion spared to render it worthy of 
the hearty approval of the virtuous and refined, and a welcome visi- 
tor at the family fireside. Earnestly believing that the political 
revolution which has called William Henry Harrison to the (Hiief 
IMagistracy of the nation was a triumph of Kight, Reason, and Pub- 
lic Good over Error and Sinister Ambition, the Tribune will give 
to the New Administration a frank and cordial, but manly and inde- 
pendent support, judging it always by its acts and commending those 
only so far as they shall seem calculated to subserve the great end 
of all government, — the welfare of the people. 

" The Tribune shall be published every morning on a fair, royal 
sheet (size of the Log Cabin and Evening Signal) and transmitted 
to its city subscribers at the low price of one cent per copy. Mail 
subscribers $4.00 per year. It will contain the news of the Morn- 
ing's Southern Mail, which is contained in no other Penny Paj^er. 
Subscriptions are respectfully solicited by 

"Horace Greeley, 30 Ann Street." 

The Tribune started out with only GOO subscribers and a debt of 
$1000, which Mr. Greeley borrowed to begin the new paper. Five 
thousand copies of the first number were printed, and Mr. Greeley 
said, "■ We found some difficulty in giving them away." The receipts 
Avere $92 and tlie expenses $525 on the first issue. It was a fight- 
ing paper and attracted attention. Subscribers soon came in at the 
rate of 300 per day. The fourth week the Tribune published (JOOO 
copies; and the seventh, 11,000. The second year there were 12,000 
subscribers; the third, 20,000. Mr. Greeley secured phenomenal 
success until 1<S72, when he made the mistake of his life. He 
liad always been a Whig and Protectionist, but he then beca.me the 
Democratic candidate for President of the United States. After a 
brilliant campaign, but a disastrous one, his disappointment and 
overwork caused his death but a short time after the election. 

Whitelaw Reid is the worthy successor of Mr. Greeley. He pur- 
chased a controlling share of the stock of the Tribune in 1887. The 
paper is said now to be worth nearly $3,000,000. 

A newspaper, of course, possesses a peculiar value. More fail 
than succeed; but some are fortunes in themselves. The Times of 
Cincinnati sold for $135,000. The stock of the New York Tribune 



JOURNALISM. 253 

sells at 1000 per cent, above par. The New York Herald was offered 
$2,200,000 for its plant in 1869. But these sums are reasonable 
compared to the fortunes made by the same papers. Bennett died 
worth $5,000,000, and a dozen other publishers of great papers have 
amassed fortunes of at least a million. While this is all true, we 
are really just entering the newspaper age. Wonders are still 
before us. 



CHAPTER XX. 

DIPLOMACY. 

Department of State — Classes of Ministers — Salaries — Training — 
Api'OintiMents — Duties — Consuls. 

A COMMITTEE of Congress managed the foreign affairs of the 
United States from Jiily 4, 1776, to October 20, 1781, when 
Kobert R. Livingston, whom Congress elected Secretary of Foreign 
Affairs, took the oath of office and served until June, 1783. He was 
succeeded by a number of men, of whom John Jay was the last. He 
held the place until March 21, 1790, when he became chief-justice 
of the United States. On July 27, 1789, Congress passed an act 
organizing the Department of State and providing for a Secretary of 
State. Thomas Jefferson was the first officer of this department. 
The Secretary of State has, as his chief duty, the management of 
foreign affairs. 

Diplomatic agents are of three classes : (1) Ambassadors, who are 
sent by one sovereign to another, or if sent by the pope, called lega- 
tees or nuncios ; (2) envoys extraordinary, ministers plenipotentiary, 
and ministers resident; (o) charges d'affaires. Ambassadors have 
the privilege of communicating personally with the sovereign to 
whom they are sent. The two lower grades communicate only with 
ministers of the sovereign. 

The United States has no sovereign, so the highest minister is 
the envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary. Twenty -nine 
officers of this rank may be appointed. Salaries differ according 
to duties and dignity of countries. Our envoys extraordinary and 
ministers plenipotentiary to France, Germany, England, Russia, and 
Mexico are allowed $17,500 each per year; to Austria, Brazil, ('hina, 
Italy, Japan, and Spain, $12,000 each ; and to other nations, $5000 
to $10,000 each. The qualifications of a minister cannot be defi- 
nitely stated, since there must be qualifications especially adapted 

251 



DIPLOMACY. 255 

to each country ; but all ministers are supposed to be chosen for their 
knowledge of international law, history, and the French language, as 
that is the diplomatic language of the world. The United States pro- 
vides no special training for her ministers ; but most other countries 
do, beginning with the boy and training him step by step, promoting 
him as his maturity and proficiency will allow, until he is too old or 
infirm to serve his country, when he is retired on a pension. The 
political system of the United States forbids any such training; 
since rotation in office is the rule, there is not the incentive to make 
a special preparation for an office that one must give up soon. How- 
ever, the ministers of the United States rank, as a rule, in dignity 
and learning with the best of other countries. 

Appointment to the office of foreign minister is made by the Pres- 
ident and confirmed by the Senate. The salary of a minister begins as 
soon as he takes his oath, and he is given a certain number of days, 
usually thirty, to prepare for his work, after which he is given from 
fifteen to seventy days to reach his destination, depending on the dis- 
tance to be traveled. Mexico is the nearest country, and China the 
farthest. The minister's first duty on arriving at his destination is to 
present himself to the sovereign at some agreeable time, and be wel- 
comed to the country. It sometimes happens that the one appointed 
is not agreeable to the country receiving, and then he is recalled and 
another appointment made. The United States has no court dress, 
ministers appearing in evening dress. Most countries have much 
formality connected with the introduction of a minister, but the 
United States holds only to the simple rules of courtesy and good will. 

Foreign ministers to the United States receive much better salaries 
than do that country's abroad. The British minister to the United 
States receives a salary, which, including expenses of living, is as 
large as that of the President of the United States. Diplomatic ser- 
vice costs the United States about $400,000 per year, while most other 
countries pay four times as much. 

The duties of a minister are hard to define. He is expected to 
keep his country well informed of all that happens abroad pertaining 
to his own country. His reports are called " dispatches," and are 
numbered in the order sent, each minister beginning with one. All 
answers to the dispatches, which are always sent to the Secretary of 
State, are called ^' instructions," and are also numbered. The Sec- 
retary of State, when wanting to communicate any matter to a foreign 
country, will either do so through the minister to that country, or 



256 INSTITUTIONAL HISTORY OF UNITED STATES. 

tlivougli that country's minister in Washington. Secretaries of State 
usually set aside one day per week to receive the ministers of other 
countries, when they are received in their rank, or if several of a rank 
are present, the first to present himself is first received. The "dip- 
lomatic day " at Washington is Thursday. 

The most important duty falling upon a minister is that of pro- 
tecting the citizens of his own country abroad. The privileges that 
a citizen of one country has in another are usually fixed by treaty. 
If a crime is committed, justice must be given the criminal, though 
the laws of the country in which the crime is committed must judge 
of the punishment, and it is the minister's duty to see that the crim- 
inal secures a fair trial. A minister is allowed a clerk, or several 
clerks if needed, and to some countries he is given a charge 
d'affaires, who is a minister to a minister. 

The consular service is quite as important as the ministerial, 
though not of the same dignity. The consul looks after the com- 
mercial interest of his country, and deals with local officers. He 
possesses no diplomatic power, and is stationed at commercial cen- 
ters instead of at the capital, as is the minister. This office grew out 
of the needs of commerce, and consvds were once selected by merchants 
instead of by the governments. They must see that no fraud is prac- 
ticed in the revenues, and must facilitate trade as much as possible. 

The United States consular service was established in 1792, but 
W^ashington had appointed seventeen consuls and five vice-consuls 
before that date. Under the law as made then, the Secretary of 
State appointed the consuls and the salary depended on the fees col- 
lected. In 185G the law was changed, and a regular system was 
organized. The consuls are now appointed the same as the ministers. 
There is no special training required and there is no stated time of 
service. These offices are usually filled by appointing politicians 
Avhose ability would not place them higher, and yet whose services 
must be rewarded. Although the system is defective, yet good ap- 
pointments are usually made. Consuls are not expected to tender 
their resignation because of a change in the presidency, as ministers 
do. They continue in their work imtil they either resign, or are 
requested to give up the office by the Department of State. 

The service is classified as follows: (1) consuls-general; (2) con- 
suls ; (3) vice-consuls ; (4) deputy-consuls ; (5) commercial agents ; 
(6) consular clerks. There are then three classes of these : (1) those 
who are required to give their wlu^le time to the work, and receive fixed 



DIPLOMACY. 257 

salaries ; (2) those who receive fixed salaries, but may engage in pri- 
vate business ; (3) those who receive compensation in fees collected 
for work done, and are allowed to engage in private business. All of 
classes (1) and (2) in the latter classification are confirmed by the 
Senate. 

A consul-general is stationed at the chief commercial center of a 
country, and has charge of all the consuls of that country. He may 
appoint his own vice-consuls, deputy-consul, and consular agents with 
the consent of the Secretary of State. The vice-consul receives no sal- 
ary, and is not required to perform any duties except in the absence of 
the chief, when he draws the latter's salary. The deputy -consul re- 
ceives fixed compensation from fees, and assists the consul in his duties. 
Commercial agents have the same rights and privileges as consuls, 
and are appointed by the President without the consent of the Senate. 

Consular agents are only the agents of a consul in a district, 
and derive all their power from the consul. There are two classes : 
the first receive their appointments from the Secretary of State, and 
hold their commission during good behavior, with a salary of $1000 
to $1200 per year ; the second are appointed by consuls, with the 
approval of the Secretary of State, and have only temporary office. 

A consul's duties are many. A full report must be made of all 
matters of commercial interest. He must certify invoices, and 
notify his country of any attempts at smuggling. Marriages, 
deaths, arrival and departure of ships, their cargoes, pauper and 
criminal emigration, the sick, changes in tariff, lighthouses, etc., 
whenever they have direct connection with his country, must be 
reported. The consuls-general receive from f 2000 to f 6000 per 
year, and agents receive generally f 1000 per year. 



CHAPTER XXI. 

POLITICAL PARTIES. 

Colonial Politics — Ratification of Constitution — "Plans" op Govern- 
ment — Federal and Anti-Federal — First Congress — Party Names 
— Hamilton's Plan — Second Congress — Third Congress — Issues — 
Fourth Congress — Federal Party — New Parties — Seventh to 
Eighteenth Congresses — Nineteenth, Twentieth, Twenty-first, 
Twenty-second — Issues of 1830-34 — Twenty-third to Thirty-sixth 
Congresses — Parties from 1840 to 1860 — Election of 1800 — Congress 
from 1800 TO 1875 — Presidential Elections from 1800 to 1890 — 
Congress from the Thirty-sixth to Fifty-fifth — Reconstruction — 
Parties from 1872 to 189G — Campaign of 1890. 

BEFORE the Revolution politics did not enter into any national 
issue. In fact, there was no national issue before the days 
just previous to that event. The people divided on the question of 
allegiance to the Crown, and took the old party names of England 
— Whigs and Tories — to designate their difference. The Whigs 
were opposed to and the Tories in favor of the Crown. The former 
were in the great majority, and held complete control of the govern- 
ment, national and state. By the close of the Revolution it may be 
said that there were no Tories in the country, as they had been 
driven out and the estates of many confiscated. 

When independence was won, there remained no cause for these 
parties to exist. They therefore ceased, and other questions came 
to the front, on which the people divided. The first of these was 
the ratification of the Constitution. The Federal Convention were 
not wholly satisfied with their work, and only thirty-nine delegates 
out of the fifty-five would sign the Constitution after it was formed. 
There were three plans proposed for a new government. Virginia 
came forward with a plan, proposed by Randolph, called the " Vir- 
ginia plan," in which a strong central government was advocated 
and representation was to be based on population. The smaller 
states did not like the plan, since they would be unequally repre- 

258 



POLITICAL PARTIES. 259 

sented on the " population plan " ; and Patterson of New Jersey- 
proposed the ''iSTew Jersey plan," which would continue the con- 
federation, but would give Congress power to regulate commerce 
and revenue. These were the extreme plans, and neither was 
accepted; but a compromise was made between them under the 
" Connecticut plan," which based one legislative house on popula- 
tion and one on state equality. A compromise is never wholly 
satisfactory to any one, and so this one was not in the Federal 
Convention. However, it was the best that could be done, and was 
accepted by the majority. 

The struggle in the Convention was insignificant compared to 
the one among the people, from 1787 to 1789, the period of ratifica- 
tion. The people divided, on the question of adopting the Consti- 
tution, into the Federal and Anti-Federal parties. The former 
advocated adoption, and the latter opposed it. They disagreed on 
the same principles that the delegates did in the Convention: one 
advocating a strong central government, and the other a confedera- 
tion. After the Constitution was adopted, the parties interpreted 
it differently, the Federalists being the loose constructionists, and 
the Anti-Federalists the strict constructionists. The great leaders 
of the Federal party at that time were Washington, Hamilton, Jay, 
and John Adams; and of the Anti-Federal, Henry, Jefferson, Madi- 
son, and Gallatin. Washington, Hamilton, Jay, and Madison who 
Avas afterward an Anti-Federalist, fought for the adoption of the 
Constitution, while Henry opposed it powerfully. After the adop- 
tion the men took their places, as stated above, except that Wash- 
ington, as President, tried to reconcile the two parties, and drew 
the two leaders, Hamilton and Jefferson, into his cabinet. 

Both parties united on the election of Washington for President, 
and for a time afterwards they were ill-defined. It was the desire 
to keep down party strife. Washington placed Jefferson and 
Kandolph, Anti-Federalists, and Hamilton and Knox, Federalists, 
in the cabinet, and appointed Jay, who was a Federalist, chief- 
justice. Thus the nation began its course, desiring parties not to 
exist, at least until the Constitution had demonstrated its usefulness. 

Congress also tried to work regardless of party feeling. It 
immediately presented to the states the amendments promised 
to the Anti-Federalists when they ratified the Constitution. But 
still the two parties noticed each other closely. Both entered into 
the new government with energy and patriotism, but each watched 



260 INSTITUTIONAL HlSTOltY OF UNITED STATES. 

the other to see what construction it would place upon the 
Constitution. 

The iirst session of Congress under the new government was an 
extra session, called to count the votes for President. This was 
called for March 4, 1789, but a quorum was not present until April 
6. The First Congress met in regular session the first time, Janu- 
ary 4, 1790, at Philadelphia. The extra session met in New York. 
January 9 the question that was to form the two great national 
parties was presented to Congress by Hamilton, — the payment of 
the national debt. The people divided on this about as they did on 
the adoption of the Constitution. But a new issue being before 
them, the name Anti-Federal was not suitable since that party 
did not now oppose the Union, but the " loose construction " of the 
Constitution made by the Federalists. Jefferson, being an admirer 
of the Republicans of France, who were then fighting royalty, gave 
the name Kepublican to his party; and the Federalists, in deri- 
sion, added the name Democrat. The party was known then 
as the Democratic-Republican party, which name was shortened 
to Democrat in 1828. This still remains the party name. In 
order that the reader may not be confused, we will use the present 
name of the party (Democrat) whenever si)eakiug of it, since Jef- 
ferson is the true father of this party. While it has changed, of 
course, as new issues came up, the Democratic party of to-day had 
its origin with Jefferson under the name Republican. The Fed- 
eral party went on until its death under the one name. 

As stated above, Hamilton's policy divided the people and Con- 
gress into the Federal and Democratic parties. On January 9, 1790, 
he made his report on the public debt, and recommended three 
things : first, that the foreign debt of the Confederacy be assumed 
by the nation and paid in full; second, that the domestic debt of 
the Confederacy be paid at par value; third, that the unpaid debts 
of the Confederacy made by the states should be assumed by the 
nation and paid in full. 

The first recommendation was adopted unanimously. The sec- 
ond was opposed by Madison and other Democrats, because }nuch 
of the domestic debt had been paid by issuing bills of credit which 
had been bought by speculators far below par ; and the Democrats 
argued that no more should be given for them, in redeeming them, 
than the holders had paid in gathering them up; for just as soon as 
there was a probability that they would be paid in full, they were 



POLITICAL PARTIES. 261 

eagerly sought after. But Hamilton held that though men had 
speculated on the misfortunes of the government, the debt should be 
paid in full to secure the credit of the country, and to teach men 
that the United States could be trusted to pay all it promised. 
After much debating, the second recommendation was adopted by 
Congress. But the third recommendation brought on the bitter 
fight, as it involved the question of state and national sovereignty. 
Should the nation assume the state debts ? The Democrats held 
not; for since the states individually made the debt, they ought 
each to pay whatever was made by it. 

The House adopted the resolution to assume the state debt by 
a vote of 31 to 26; but North Carolina ratified the Constitution 
just before this, and sent seven new members, all Democrats, to 
the House, which gave the Democrats a majority of two. The 
House then recalled the resolution and voted it down. Now began 
the system of " log-rolling " in Congress. There Avas a site for the 
nation's capital to be chosen, and Hamilton offered the same to the 
Potomac district, after 1800, if enough Democrats would su^^port his 
third recommendation to pass it. Two Democrats from the Potomac 
agreed to the trade, and the third recommendation Avas passed by 
Congress. Thus the Federalists won in the first session of the First 
Congress. 

The second session met on December 6, 1790, and divided on 
Hamilton's National Bank Scheme and on the Excise law. The 
Federalists claimed that Congress had the power to collect all 
revenues and taxes, and to make laws to that end. Therefore it had 
the constitutional right to form a bank as an agent for that purpose. 
The Democrats held that such a bank was unnecessaiy and therefore 
unconstitutional. Hamilton also based the right for some of his 
proposed measures on the " General Welfare " clause in the Pre- 
amble of the Constitution The Democrats claimed that the Pre- 
amble had no lawful force and was no such part of the Constitution. 
However, the Federalists won again on both the Bank and the Excise 
law. The First Congress adjourned March 3, 1791, after having car- 
ried out exactly all of Hamilton's plans, and admitted Vermont as a 
state. It was not formally admitted, however, until March 4, 1791. 

The Second Congress met in its first session October 24, 1791. 
The Federalists were reduced slightly, but the majority of both 
parties supported the administration. This session increased the 
army and tariff, both Federal measures, and admitted Kentucky. 



262 INSTITUTIONAL HISTORY OF UNITED STATES. 

It adjourned May 8,- 1792, and Congress met in second session 
November 5, 1792. The only party measure was an attempt to 
pass a vote of censure on Hamilton for his management of the 
Treasury, and for a discourteous message he had sent to the House. 
In February, 1793, Congress counted the votes for President, and 
found that Washington had again secured a unanimous election, 
being given 132 votes. John Adams was elected Vice-President, 
receiving 77 votes. Congress adjourned March 3, 1793, and Wash- 
ington and Adams were inaugurated the next day. 

A new condition of affairs came before the Third Congress. I5y 
this time the construction of the Constitution had been determined 
in favor of the Federalists, and new issues sprang up, that caught 
the minds of the people and Congress. The Third Congress met in 
its hrst session December 2, 1793, and was slightly Democratic in 
the House, though there was so large a doubtful vote that neither 
party could be sure of its measures. 

The main issue in politics was hostility towards England. Eng- 
land and France were at war. England had taken up the cause of 
royalty in France, and determined to overthrow the then existing 
government, which was an attempt towards republicanism. The 
Democrats favored France and the Federalists favored England. 
This fight was so bitter that it was said that there were no Americans 
in America. The people were either Englishmen or Frenchmen. 
The Federalists were largely given to commerce, and desired friend- 
ship with England. The Democrats were largely agriculturalists, 
and favored France. England had not forgotten her defeat at the 
hands of the Americans, and had never entered into close relation- 
ship with that people. She had not yet sent a minister duly ac- 
credited to the United States, and had yet refused to carry out a 
part of the Treaty of 1783. Jay's Treaty only intensified the 
feeling against England, and placed Washington in very great 
disgrace with many of the people. It was claimed that he was 
bought. There were frequent cries of a " Brutus for Washington, 
the step-father of his country." When Washington left office, a 
newspaper said, " Every heart which feels for the liberty and happi- 
ness of the people must now beat with rapture at the thought that 
this day the name of Washington ceases to give currency to injustice 
and to legalize corruption." The second session of the Third Con- 
gress met November 3, 1794, and put in most of the time debating 
a system of internal taxation. The Federalists again won. 



POLITICAL PARTIES. 263 

The Fourth Congress held its first session beginning December 
7, 1795, in which the Federalists were in the majority, though the 
House was Democratic. This session was largely taken up by the 
fight of the House against Washington, as mentioned above. So 
much was he troubled that he declared he would rather be in his 
grave than President. The second session of the Fourth Congress 
met December 5, 1796, and in February, 1797, declared John Adams 
President and Jefferson Vice-President. 

John Adams' administration was an unpopular one, and one in 
which the Democrats constantly increased in power. The Fifth 
and Sixth Congresses gave their attention to difficulties Avith France, 
out of which grew the Alien and Sedition law. Out of the oppo- 
sition to these laws by the Democrats grew the Virginia and Ken- 
tucky Resolutions. The record of Adams as President was so 
unsatisfactory to the people that they elected a majority of Demo- 
cratic electors in the next election, though these could not decide 
upon a President. The House elected Jefferson, thus throwing the 
power, both executive and legislative, into the hands of the Demo- 
crats. The Federalists resorted to a scheme to hold the Judiciary 
by organizing twenty-three new judgeships, Avhich offices Adams 
filled late on the last day of his administration. These judges were 
called "Midnight Judges." They were dismissed from office the 
next year by the Democrats and the offices were abolished. 

The dissolution of the Federal party began about the time of 
Jefferson's election. Jay's Treaty and the Alien and Sedition laws 
had made it very unpopidar, but it continued to be a factor in 
politics until 1824, when it passed away, and the National Republi- 
can party took its place. In the meantime it and the Democratic 
party had changed front on a great many things. Jefferson bought 
Louisiana, a very "loose construction" act, and his party rechartered 
the National Bank, another Federal institution. The Federal party 
opposed both of these measures. The Democrats passed a protective 
tariff bill, in 1816. Jefferson, Madison, and Monroe followed out 
old Federal principles which were opposed by the party originating 
them. 

The year 1824 presents to us new domestic conditions to deal 
with. The presidential election of that year was more personal than 
political. All the candidates were really Democrats. Jackson and 
Crawford represented one division of the party ; and J. Q. Adams 
and Clay, the other, which advocated a protective tariff. No election 



264 INSTITUTIONAL HISTORY OF UNITED STATES. 

was made by tlie people and the House elected Adams. Jackson 
had received a plurality of the popular vote, but the union of Adams 
and Clay states defeated him in the House, from which bitter feeling 
arose dividing the party. Jackson and Calhoun became the leaders 
of one faction; and Clay, Adams, and Webster, of the other. The 
latter took the name National Eepublican or Whig ; and the former 
dropped the name Eepublican and retained the name Democrat. 
The Whigs advocated high tariff, the National Bank, and internal 
improvements by the nation. The Democrats opposed the first and 
second, and held that internal improvements should be made by the 
states. 

('ongress from the Seventh to the Eighteenth was Democratic. 
The Nineteenth Congress was slightly Whig or National Republican, 
but the Twentieth was clearly Democratic, though it passed the 
famous Tariff Bill of 1828. The presidential election of 1828 
placed Jackson in the chair, and gave the Democrats the power of 
government. The Anti-Masonic party gained some influence at this 
time, but hardly of a national character. Vermont chose electors of 
that party. It was a party opposed to secret societies in general 
and to the Masons in particular. The Twenty-first Congress was 
Democratic and worked in harmony with Jackson on the l)ank 
question. The Twenty-second Congress was doubtful, but developed 
into a body opposed to the President and passed the National Bank 
Bill which Jackson vetoed. The Tariff Bill of 1832 became a law 
by sanction of Jackson, and he also signed the ('ompromise l>ill of 
1833. The Twenty-third Congress was opposed to Jackson in the 
Senate, but supported him in the House. The National Eepublican 
party took the name of Whigs about this time, 1834. The Twenty- 
fourth Congress was slightly Democratic. 

A new question had appeared just above the horizon about 1834. 
Slavery began to agitate. the people, and increased in importance 
until it absorbed every other question. The Antislavery faction 
was known as Abolitionists. The Whigs gave the name Loco-focos 
to the Democrats, who used matches of that material to relight a 
hall after the lights had been bloAvn out by some Whigs. The name 
was first applied to the Equal Eights party in New York. Erom 
1840 to 1850 many small parties originated. The Liberty party, 
opposed to slavery, nominated a presidential candidate in 1840 and 
1844. A faction of the Democratic party was called the " Hard 
Money Democrats " ; another faction was called the " Soft Shells." 



POLITICAL PARTIES. 265 

In New York the party was divided into " Hunkers " and " Barn- 
burners." The Democratic party, however, held itself together and 
elected Van Buren, Polk, Pierce, and Buchanan ; while the Whigs 
elected Harrison and Taylor. 

The Twenty -fifth Congress was Democratic. In the Twenty-sixth 
and Twenty-seventh the Whigs had the majority. The Twenty- 
eighth Congress was wholly Democratic in the House and Whig in 
the Senate. The Twenty-ninth was wholly Democratic, while the 
Thirtieth was Democratic in the Senate and Whig in the House. 
The Thirty-first Congress had a Democratic majority in the Senate 
and no party majority in the House, though the Free-soilers held 
the balance of power. The Thirty-second and Thirty-third were 
Democratic, and the Thirty-fourth was so in the Senate, but there 
was no party majority in the House. Many of the Anti-Nebraska 
men were Know-nothings and followed no particular leader. The 
Anti-Nebraska men took the name Republicans in 1856, said to have 
been given them by Governor Seward of New York. The Thirty- 
fifth and Thirty-sixth Congresses were both Democratic. The reader 
will notice frequent changes in this period, and some very radical 
ones. But now (1860) a great question had reached its climax and 
a new party was at the helm. 

The student of American history knows that the slavery question 
had always been of more or less importance, but after the making of 
the Constitution it did not create any great disturbance until 1820, 
when Missouri asked for admission. In 1833 the National Anti- 
slavery Society was organized, which became influential and entered 
politics in 1840 and 1844 under the name Libert}' party. In 1848 
Van Buren led the same party under the name Free-soilers. Fol- 
lowing this came the Omnibus Bill in 1850. In 1852 the Whig 
party was defeated for the presidency, with General Scott the 
candidate. The party divided that year, and a faction, called the 
Silver Grays and opposed to the agitation of slavery, ruled the party 
policy. This caused many Whig votes to go to the Free-soil party, 
and allowed the Democrats to elect Pierce. The career of the Whig 
party was closed by this act, and the Democratic and Free-soil 
parties were left alone in the field. The slavery question stood 
between the two parties, and thus became the question that divided 
the people. Many Democrats did not like the Kansas-Nebraska 
Bill, and united with the Free-soilers ; most of the Whigs went to 
the same party, as did the American or Know-nothing party. This 



266 INSTITUTIONAL HISTORY OF UNITED STATES. 

combination formed the Republican party of to-day. The Demo- 
cratic party was placed on the Squatter Sovereignty principle. The 
Republican party opposed the extension of slavery. This was the 
condition of things in 1856. In 1860 the Democratic party divided 
into the Northern and Southern Democratic parties because of 
slavery. The former adhered to the Kansas-Nebraska Bill, and 
the latter to the Dred-Scott Decision. The Northern faction nomi- 
nated Douglas for President; the Southern. Breckenridge. The 
Republican party nominated Lincoln, and held to the non-extension 
of slavery. The Constitution Union party nominated Bell and held 
to the Constitution and enforcement of law. 

Mr. Lincoln was elected by the Republicans, and the Douglas 
Democrats supported his administration, while the Breckenridge 
Democrats of the South and most of the Bell supporters seceded 
from the Union. For four long bloody years the dark cloud of war 
hovered over the land divided into Union and Non-Union ; but as it 
cleared away the country fell back into the two political parties, — 
Republican and Democratic. From 1860 to 1875 Congress was Re- 
publican, and that party elected all the Presidents from 1860 to 1884, 
General Harrison in 1888, and William McKinley in 1896. The Demo- 
crats have elected Mr. Cleveland twice, once in 1884 and again in 1892. 
The Forty-fourth Congress, which met in 1875, had a Republican 
majority in the Senate and a Democratic majority in the House. The 
Forty-fifth Congress was divided in the same way. The Forty-sixth 
was Democratic. The Forty-seventh was a tie in the Senate, but the 
Vice-President in a tie vote gave the Senate a Republican majority; 
the House was Republican. The Democrats controlled the House 
in the Forty-eighth Congress, and the Republicans the Senate. It 
was the same in the Forty-ninth. The Fiftieth Congress was 
equally divided in the Senate, and in the House the Democrats 
had a majority. The Fifty-first was a clear Republican majority 
in both houses, and the Fifty-second was Democratic in the House 
and Republican in the Senate. The Fifty-third had a Democratic 
majority in both houses, while the Fifty-fourth was a Repulilican 
House and Democratic Senate, and the Fifty-fifth has a large Re- 
publican majority in the House and a small one in the Senate. 

After the Civil War, Reconstruction divided the two political 
parties. There were three known theories in regard to the recon- 
struction of the seceded states. Mr. Lincoln had held, in 1862, that 
a state should bo given its old rights as soon as one-tenth of the 



POLITICAL PARTIES. 267 

persons who had voted in 1860 had established a state government 
and asked readmission. As far as known, he held to this view until 
death. President Johnson claimed that the states had lost their 
rights only temporarily, and that when the War ceased they then 
passed back into their old rights. Congress, which was Republican, 
held that the seceded states had forfeited their rights as states, and 
had become territories, and must be so governed until they should 
show a proper spirit towards the Union. The Republican party 
based its principles on this theory, and the Democrats took up Mr. 
Johnson's views. Congress carried out its theory in regard to Re- 
construction, and placed the South under military rule, sometimes 
called "Carpet Bag" rule. Tennessee was readmitted July 24, 1866 ; 
Arkansas, June 22, 1868 ; Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, and South 
Carolina, June 25, 1868 ; Alabama, North Carolina, and Texas, 
July 11, 1868; Virginia, January 26, 1870; Mississippi, February 
17, 1870. 

In 1872 parties suffered some division. Hostility towards Grant 
divided the Republican party into Liberal Republican and Repub- 
licans. The Democrats also divided, and one wing affiliated with 
the Liberal Republicans and nominated Greeley for President. The 
Republicans nominated Grant, and the Democrats O'Connor, who 
was also endorsed by the Labor Reform party. The Prohibition 
party nominated Mr. Black. Mr. Grant was elected by a large 
majority. 

The Greenback party was organized in 1874. It advocated the 
withdrawal of national bank money and the issuing of green- 
backs. In 1876 the American Nationalists organized, advocating 
the American Sabbath preservation, and opposing secret societies. 
In 1881 the Republican party divided, in New York, into the 
Stalwarts, opposers of the administration, and Half-breeds, sup- 
porters. The Democrats of the same state divided into Tammany 
Democrats and Democrats. The Tammany Democrats and Stal- 
wart Republicans joined on local issues effectually. The Inde- 
pendent National party was organized in 1878 as an outgrowth of 
labor troubles. The Woman Suffragist party put out Belva Lock- 
wood as candidate for President, in 1884. A faction of the Repub- 
lican party, which supported Cleveland, and Avhich called itself 
Independent Republican, was named Mugwump. The Union Labor 
party named Stretor as its candidate in 1888. 

The Farmers' Alliance was a strong factor in politics in 1892. 



268 INSTITUTIONAL HISTORY OF UNITED STATES. 

It, the Free Silverites, Labor Reform, and Greenback party coa- 
lesced and formed the Populist party in 1892, which favored 
reduced taxation, less excessive interest, free silver, free trade, and 
an income tax. The Republicans favored protection and reci- 
l)rocity. The Democrats favored a revenue tariff. Mr. Cleveland 
was elected by the Democratic party by a large majority. 

In 1896 the campaign presented several very peculiar features. 
It seemed until within a few months of the opening of the campaign 
that the Republican party would have comparatively no op})Osition, 
the Democratic party had made such a miserable failure in its tariff 
measure, which, with the financial crisis during Cleveland's admin- 
istration, almost annihilated the party. In fact, the leaders of the 
party were repudiated by the main body, and the party came out in 
1896 to fight the campaign under new issues. It held its convention 
in Chicago, and adopted a platform in which the main issue was the 
free coinage of silver. AVilliam J. Bryan of Nebraska and Artlmr 
Sewell of Maine were nominated for President and Vice-President. 
The party was generally called the Popocratic party in the cam- 
paign because of the fusion of the Populist party -and the free 
silver wing of the Democratic party. 

The Republican party held its convention in St. Louis and 
nominated William McKinley of Ohio, and G. A. Hobart of New 
Jersey as its candidates for President and Vice-President. The 
leading principle of the platform was the single gold standard in 
opposition to the double standard of the Democratic party. The 
dissatisfied element of the Democratic party, the National Demo- 
crats, met in convention at Indianapolis and nominated John M. 
Palmer of Illinois and Simon B. Buckner of Kentucky as candi- 
dates of the party. They advocated the single gold standard. The 
People's party at St. Louis nominated William J. P>ryaii of Ne- 
braska and Thomas Watson of Georgia. This party advocated 
free silver and fused Avitli the Democrats generally, nominating 
the Democratic candidate fur President. 

The Prohibition party divided on the silver question, and the 
regulars nominated Joshua Levering of Maryland and Hale John- 
sou of Illinois for President and Vice-President. This party favored 
the gold standard. The Free Silver Prohibitionists nominated C E. 
lientley of Nebraska and J. H. Southgate of Illinois. The Social- 
istic Labor party nominated Cliarles 11. Mitclicl of New York and 
Matthew McGuire of New Jersey. The Free Silver party endorsed 



POLITICAL PARTIES. 269 

the Democratic candidates. We had the very unusual feature of a 
presidential candidate, W. J. Bryan, receiving the nomination from 
three parties and a vice-presidential candidate, Arthur Sewell, re- 
ceiving the nomination from two parties. Free silver was the all- 
absorbing question, and, after a campaign of unusual excitement 
and interest, William J. McKinley was elected by an electoral ma- 
jority of 97, and by a popular majority of nearly 1,000,000, the 
largest of its kind in the history of the nation. 



CHAPTER XXII. 

CUSTOMS. 

Virginia — Plantation — Dwellings — Amusements — Clothing — Home 
Life — Study — Society — Carolinas — South — Quakers — Pursuits — 
Houses — Life — Farms — Customs — Occupations — Dutch — Albany — 
New York — Customs — Puritans — Classes — Country Life — Nature 
— Homes — Boston Fashion — Customs — Foreigners — Nature — Art 
and Literature. 

DURING the Colonial Period hospitality was second nature to 
the people of Virginia. They were even reckless in this 
respect. The statutes declared that people must be entertained 
through courtesy, Avhen no certain agreement was made. The 
planters stationed servants on the road to intercept travelers, or 
sent to the inns and invited strangers to come to their homes to 
stay as long as they desired. This was partly due to the monotony 
of life. 

A plantation presented the scene of a small village. In the cen- 
ter stood the house of the planter and around it were the offices, not 
connected with the main house. The tobacco houses and the huts 
of the negroes clustering about made an appearance of a town. 
The slaves sawed wood, cleared land, and cultivated tobacco. The 
houses of the planters varied: some were built of wood with the 
chimney on the outside; others wei'e of brick, and still others of 
cut stone. The typical Southern dwelling was, and is yet, a long 
building with a large room above and below on each end and a broad 
hall running between. A few houses were built low and others had 
several stories, even reaching above the tree-tops, and all were 
spacious, witli large rooms and great fireplaces. 

The })lanters made money out of tlie tobacco industry and cheap 
slave labor, and lived luxuriously. Coaches, carriages, and chaises 
were common as early as 1700. Horses were fine and valuable. The 
Virginian was a great lover of the horse and horse-racing. He kept 

270 



CUSTOMS. 271 

coach-horses, race-horses, saddle-horses, and hunters. Wearing 
apparel was imported and costly, and the men and women dressed 
in the English fashion. Of course there was a great deal of new 
country roughness in their refinement. A house with a full table 
and fine plate might stand for ten years with glass out of the win- 
dows, fences down, and buildings unrepaired, but the stables were 
always in good condition. 

High living and gambling ruined many families and forced 
many young heirs to go farther into the interior to begin life. 
Legislation favored debtors : during a contraction of money, debtors 
had to pay but two-thirds of their debts. At one time debts were 
unrecoverable by law, and in 1657 a bankrupt law was passed allow- 
ing a debtor to clear his obligation by giving up his property. The 
debt habit increased, and no one could collect, land could not be 
seized for debts, and it was easy to evade giving up slaves and other 
personal property. Financial integrity was not highly considered, 
but the planter borrowed money when possible, paid a high rate of 
interest, and enjoyed life hugely. 

Home life was easy and monotonous. The planter rose about 
nine o'clock, took a walk to his stables to see his horses, breakfasted 
between nine and ten, which meal consisted of tea or coffee, bread 
and butter, slices of venison, ham, or beef. He then lay down on 
a pallet on the floor with a negro at his head and one at his feet to 
fan him and keep of£ the flies. Between twelve and one o'clock he 
drank some liquor or a mixture of rum, sugar, water, and nutmeg, 
and dined at two or three o'clock on ham, greens, cabbage, and wine 
with a few extras. He then lay down on the pallet again and rested 
until ten, when supper was eaten of fruit, milk, and wine, and then 
bedtime came. While this seems almost past belief, yet it is virtu- 
ally quoted from one of the best sources of knowledge on the period. 
Lodge declares it to be the usual life of a Virginian planter when 
he had no company and there was no unusual excitement in the 
neighborhood. The description probably exaggerates the inactivity 
of the usual daily life, but such examples no doubt existed. Over- 
seers managed the plantation. It was the duty of the wife to 
manage the house and train servants. She was a good, attentive 
housekeeper and mother, and was never mixed up in intrigues of 
any nature. 

There was little time devoted to study and literature in Virginia. 
In the Colonial Period she furnished but three books tliat would 



272 INSTITUTIONAL HISTORY OF UNITED STATES. 

excel matter-of-fact statistics. Beverly wrote a history of the 
province, inaccurate but interesting, and Reverend Stith wrote a 
history of the early days of the colony. Colonel Byrd's memoirs, 
written while running the Xorth Carolina boundary line, narrate the 
incidents and observations of that work. Those who read gave their 
time chiefly to Blair's "Sermons," "The Spectator," and Tillotson's 
"Sermons." Some history, Pope's works, Montaigne's "Essays," 
and " Gil Bias " were read. As we come near the Revolution, these 
things change gradually ; but there was never great interest taken 
in either reading or writing. While this was true, there was one 
grand subject that Virginia noticed, and well for America that she 
did, — politics. The right of suffrage reached down to the man wlio 
possessed fifty acres of land. Elections were exciting events, in 
which all classes mingled. The school of politics was well attended, 
as the history of Virginia's part in the Revolution shows. 

Society in Virginia was strictly classified, and social distinction 
was most rigidly observed. This was most noticed in the churches. 
The great families occupied the principal pews, generally in the 
galleries, while the poor congregated on the floor. Some pews were 
marked "Magistrates" and "Magistrates' Ladies." In some places 
the congregation waited outside until the aristocracy gathered, and 
then followed in. Labor was a disgrace, and trade was despised. 

The planter was indolent and vain; but also imperious, espe- 
cially in government, in which he fretted under restraint. He was 
not an inventive character, but was often eloquent, being a clear, 
fluent, and impressive speaker, with much shrewdness and sense. 
He liad great family pride, and knew his ancestors far back. He 
Avas a fine soldier, politician, lawyer, and statesman. Of these 
chai'acteristies were the leaders of American independence. After 
we have told the story of Virginia's shortcomings, her indolence, 
lack of schools, haughtiness, and careless hospitality, we must bow 
in humble submission before the state that could in one generation 
give the world a Washington, a Marshall, a Jefferson, a Henry, a 
Madison, the Lees, Randolphs, Pendletons, etc., all lights, not only 
in the woods of America, but in the brilliant palaces of the highest 
civilization. 

Life in the other Southern Colonies was of the same kind as that 
of Virginia, but not of so great refinement and influence. In the 
Carolinas the " Poor Whites " and small farmers were more numerous 
than in Virginia, and tlie planters less numerous. The mass of the 



CUSTOMS. 273 

population was small landowners, and the unsettled condition of 
the colony invited turbulent characters. Law was not much re- 
spected, and every one did what was right in his own eyes. "There 
were no established laws and very little of the Gospel," says one 
writer. Men were lazy, and women did much of the Avork. Daily 
existence was solitary and monotonous. Once a month or less fre- 
quently mail came through the colony. There was little traveling, 
so the people saw little of the outside world. Thus lived an unset- 
tled, lawless population, jealous of their rights, and rash in vindi- 
cating them. North Carolina and Rhode Island were always slowest 
to accept any of the restraints of law or government, but they made 
good fighters for liberty. 

The reader should especially acquaint himself with the different 
natures that peopled the New World. We have noted the Cava- 
lier, the aristocratic Englishman, proud and haughty, fretting under 
restraint of any kind, and yet born to rule those below him. It 
seemed the purpose to join this proud, vain personage to the hum- 
ble, simple Quaker, that they should together fight out the battle 
for liberty. The Quaker lived differently, had a different aim, and 
thouglit different things from the Cavalier. He followed a variety 
of pursuits, — sold goods, traded with the Indians, farmed, set up 
manufactures, entered professions, — and did everything well. This 
variety developed the resources of the colony rapidly, and made 
Pennsylvania a noble state. Philadelphia grew rapidly. By the 
Revolution it was the largest city in population in America. Good 
buildings were the rule from the first, houses were made of brick 
and stone, and a few, of wood. The streets were paved, and there 
was a good police system and good lighting. Porches and balconies 
surrounded the houses; and posts marked off the sidewalks and kept 
foot passengers and vehicles apart. All this was due mostly to that 
wonderful character, the Prometheus of the modern world, Benjamin 
Franklin. 

Germantown had many thriving manufactures, and other towns 
developed rapidly. Reading, in 1749, had but two houses, in 1751 
it had one hundred and thirty. Lancaster was the largest inland 
town in the colonies; it was settled by the Irish and Dutch. Slaves 
were not so plentiful in Pennsylvania, but there were many inden- 
tured servants. Slaves and servants were well treated, and ate at 
the lower end of the table with the master. The first lunatic asylum 
in America was in Philadelphia, and the Quaker originated the idea 



274 INSTITUTIONAL HISTORY OF UNITED STATES. 

of better prisons, medical schools, asylums for the poor, and such 
other charitable institutions as are now so popular. 

Human life in Pennsylvania presented many varieties. Between 
the frontier and Philadelphia there were all grades of life, — good, 
bad, and indifferent. A backwoodsman's life was one extreme; a 
wealthy Philadelphian's, the opposite. The pioneer cleared a little 
spot in the woods, farmed little, and hunted and traded with the 
Indians a great deal. A rude log house of two rooms was his home. 
He dressed in hunting-shirt and leggings; his wife, in Ijedgowns 
and linsey; and both went barefoot in summer. Utensils were of 
pewter, the furniture was of home manufacturing, and pork and 
hominy were the principal food, varied with venison. 

But nearer civilization was the great farming class, Avliich formed 
the bulk and strengtli of the population. On the borders of this 
life was the rougher element that caused so much trouble. Here 
was the scene of many disturbances between the Irish and Germans; 
but in the interior of this farming region was the good, substantial 
farmer, scientific and economical, who worked his farm well, and 
made it produce much. Patriarchal simplicity ruled; master and 
servant ate together and worked together. Pood was plentiful, 
and the dress of leather breeches and hemp jackets was coarse and 
substantial. China, glass, and linen were on the table. Every 
farm made honey, raised cattle, had large orchards, kept a full gar- 
den, and had a fish pond. Parms were scattered through the woods, 
but never at very great distances from one another. The nearer one 
came to Philadelphia, the finer the houses and the farms were. 
Marriages were made young, and the population increased rapidly. 
There was not much luxury, but a great deal of good, solid com- 
fort. Philadelphia, however, displayed a great degree of luxury. 
It was a social center, and fashions from England reached it easily. 
Men carried gold-headed canes and gold snuff-boxes. They wore 
velvet and silk clothing, wigs, and laced coats with large silver but- 
tons; and the young men wore swords. Red was a favorite color. 
Men wore more color in tlieir dress then than fasliionable women do 
to-day. The ladies' dress was more rich and brilliant than the gen- 
tlemen's. Brocades, satins, velvets, and silks were common; and 
the tall head-dress and mound of hair were fashionable. The 
Quakers, even, gave way to the styles, and a class, known as Wet 
Quakers, wore the brilliant and rich dresses of society. 

Business and trade were the occupations; women in the middle 



CUSTOMS. 275 

classes tended the shop. The social line was closely drawn. A 
young lady who married beneath her station was ostracized by her 
set. In summer young men strolled about, and visited the young 
ladies of an evening. Calls were made in the afternoon ; marriages 
were occasions of great festivity, and funerals were even more so. 

Another people to be united in the new country with the Quaker 
and Cavalier, were the Dutch in Xew York. Trade was the business 
of the happy, good-natured Dutch. They led a sleepy, contented, 
comfortable life. The sons followed trading, and the daughters 
cared for the household. The men rode into Albany, New York, 
or some other town or city, and bartered their country produce for 
groceries or goods. Saddle-horses, farm-wagons, and two-wheeled 
chaises were the modes of locomotion. 

Albany was built up as a fur trading-post, for which trade it was 
the center of the Northern Colonies. Each dwelling was also a store 
with its rooms for furs in the second story. Albany remained 
strictly Dutch until after the Revolution. Life was quiet, and the 
people were shy, but hospitable, simple, and unaffected. The women 
worked hard and managed carefully. The Dutch were good traders ; 
it was a common saying that not even a Jew could excel them. 

New York, of course, was the principal city. The Dutch early 
lost hold of that city, and the Yankee spirit invaded it; consequently 
it developed rapidly. It was then, as now, a great center of trade. 
Tlie streets were paved, lighted, and watched by a police force. In 
society there was the same splendor in every respect as spoken of 
in Philadelphia. Marriages were formed very young and were very 
fruitful. Divorce was an unusual thing. The marriage was a sim- 
ple, plain event, but the funeral was an elaborate festal occasion. 
A man always put away wine for his funeral. At death invitations 
were sent out to all the friends, who came with scarfs and gloves, and 
sat around the bier solemnly drinking and smoking. A prayer was 
said and the body was carried to its grave; then the mourners 
returned to the house and feasted. In the country, only men 
attended the body to the grave; but in New York City, women 
attended also and were sometimes pall-bearers. A funeral was an 
expensive event, often costing $4000. Van Eensselaer paid out 
$20,000 on the funeral of his wife. 

The fourth and last distinct people who had peculiar customs 
were the Puritans in New England. There also was an aristocratic 
class having power and influence. The rank, however, was not 



276 INSTITUTIONAL HISTORY OF UNITED STATES. 

wealth alone, but also birth, ability, and education. Great estates 
were not numerous in New England. The people were more nearly 
equal there in jDoint of wealth than in any other part of the colonies. 
A man was removed from the office of peace commissioner because 
he was the son of a bricklayer, and not of a magistrate. Social dis- 
tinctions were clearly drawn and carefully observed in all matters 
relating to public office. It was there that aristocracy most aj^peared. 
The people held their offices in great respect. The educated filled 
all the chief places in New England, and her public officers were 
usually of the highest and most respected class. " Honorable " was 
applied to the governor; "Esquire," to men of office; and "master" 
and "mistress," to those of good birth, education, and position. 
The masses addressed one another as "goodman," or "goodwife," or 
"neighbor." In the church the same classification was prominent: 
first, authority; next, age; next, wealth; and last, house lots. In 
this order they chose pews. College life was the same. Harvard 
and Yale took up the list of students at the beginning of the year, 
and ranked them as above, and there they stood, making no differ- 
ence what the work done amounted to. The magistrate's son stood 
first in class, the wealthy next, and the poor last. Yale abolished 
the system in 1768; and Harvard, in 1773. 

Houses were large and displayed much comfort and wealth; some 
were built of stone, and furnished with costly pictures. It is on 
record that one man spent $100,000 on his house. The average 
country house was neat, solid, and simple. There was a similarity 
in houses as in manners and habits. 

There was a decided difference between the country life of New 
England and that of Virginia. Virginia's population was isolated, 
and scattered with no central point. New England always had this 
central place. The town has become our modern township. In 
each township there were the schoolhouse and church; and near 
these were the houses of the minister and teacher, tlie blockhouse, 
townhouse, and a variety store ; also various trades and professions 
had houses near this center. Running off from this center were 
the farmhouses ; thus the common center furnished social conditions 
and a unit of government. The community were in good circum- 
stances, but none was very rich; and none, very poor. The women 
were noted for their beauty, but they faded early. The men grew 
angular and sharp-featured, as did their minds, which were shrewd, 
quick; and inquisitive. They were a hard-working and thrifty 



CUSTOMS. 277 

people, the very soul of honor. Their houses were neat and clean. 
The men wore homespun, moose hide, and sheepskin breeches; and 
the women dressed in coarse, strong linen. On Sunday they all 
dressed in their best clothes of cloth and silk, and powdered the hair. 
The houses were heated by the large open fireplaces ; furniture was 
strong and plain; sundials answered for clocks; and pewter and 
wood, for china, except on special occasions. Vegetables, corn 
meal, molasses, meat, fruits, tea, and beer were the usual food. 
The family, if in average circumstances, possessed silverware ; but it 
was seldom used. The farms presented a good appearance and were 
highly cultivated. 

Boston, of course, was the center of social life, as it was also 
the center of trade, learning, and government. It rose in an amphi- 
theater-like form from the water's edge. There were many large 
wharves. The "Long Wharf" was considered a great work, and 
was two thousand feet long, covered with large warehouses. The 
streets were wide, but very crooked and irregular. They were paved 
with cobblestones, and the gutters ran down the middle, with side- 
walks marked off by a line of posts and chains. They were clean 
and well kept. Life in Boston differed at first very little from that 
in the country towns ; but the English introduced the fashions and 
gayeties of English life, which were taken up by the people. The 
cold was very bitter. Cotton Mather wrote, " My ink-glass is frozen 
in my very stove." Furniture was costly and plentiful. People 
often owned estates out in the country, where they spent the summer. 
They had a great deal of silverware, china, glass, and tapestry. The 
markets were well stocked; food was plentiful and cheap; and good 
wine abounded in every cellar. Men wore broadcloth and velvet, 
lace rufiles, silk stockings, and diamond shoe-buckles. Powdered 
hair and swords were the fashion in society. Women dressed more 
splendidly than the men. High head-dresses and ostrich feathers 
were common. Ladies usually rode in a chaise attended by a negro; 
gentlemen went on horseback, attended also by a negro. 

Boston was a kind, hospitable city, but there existed the cold 
formality of the Puritan. Marriage was simple, and generally per- 
formed by a squire ; a minister was not thought to be a fit person 
to ofiiciate at the ceremony. It was but a civil contract, they said, 
and needed no official minister. Girls of sixteen and seventeen 
usually married, and women were called old maids at twenty-five. 
The young girl was free to almost any extent; but marriage changed 



278 INSTITUTIONAL HISTORY OF UNITED STATES. 

her j)Osition: freedom ceased; the home was her place, where she 
was expected to be. The virtue of the people verged into a prudish 
stiffness ; but the intrigues and gallantries of gay life were almost 
unknown in New England. Towards the end of the Colonial l^eriod 
inarriage changed from its simple, quiet cliaracter to one of great 
festivity. We have an account of one wedding where ninety-two 
couples danced ninety-two jigs, fifty-two contra-dances, forty -five 
minuets, and seventeen hornpipes. Funerals, at first very simple, 
grew into occasions of great pomp and dignity. The legislature 
was forced to regulate the cost, so much to the extreme did the 
people go. A death, if at night, was announced by tolling the bell 
at sunrise; if in daytime, at sunset. It was tolled once for a child; 
twice for a woman; and three times for a man. 

In learning, New England was first on the continent. She took 
pride in education, establishing the district plan of schools and 
founding two great colleges. The people disliked foreigners, and 
took great pride in their own race. The French Huguenot was the 
only foreigner ever welcomed to New England hospitality. 

The Papist, Irishman, and Frenchman were bitterly hated. The 
Scotcli Presbyterians were not liked; when England began her 
policy of absolute government, this dislike to foreigners extended to 
the English. The people, however, were very loyal to their own gov- 
ernment. They were so successful in evading the laws that England 
imposed, that they cared little for parliamentary acts as long as 
they could be evaded. Everybody in New England was a politician. 
One writer says, " They are all politicians even down to the house- 
maids, and read two newspapers a day." 

Speaking generally of all the people, it is true that art had very 
little place in colonial life. One would hardly expect a people in 
the wilds of America to give much attention to the tastes. Archi- 
tecture was hardly respectable. Public buildings were mostly 
deformities on the landscape. The country could boast neither of 
art nor artists before the present century. The prudish spirit stood 
in the way of art generally. Nude paintings or sculpture were 
thought indecent, and many times could not be exhibited save in 
private. In our own century, exhibitions of art in Philadelphia 
were open to men one day and women another, when ol)jectionable 
pieces were removed. The "Greek Slave," the most noted work of 
art in our country, wlien first shown at Cincinnati, was visited by 
a committee of clergymen to see if it were decent and suitable for 



CUSTOMS. 279 

their people to visit. A young man was advised to mend shoes or 
dig potatoes rather than to make pictures in America. In 1820 the 
Edinburgh Eeview siiid: "Who, in the four quarters of the globe, 
reads an American book, goes to an American play, looks at an 
American painting or statue? What does the world owe to Ameri- 
can physicians or surgeons? What new substance have their chem- 
ists discovered? Wliat new constellations have their astronomers 
discovered? Who drinks of the American glasses? Who eats from 
American plates? Who wears an American coat or lies down to 
sleep in an American blanket? " The first quarter of the present 
century was gone before a single painting or piece of statuary was 
produced which will stand the criticisms of the future. 

One art, however, in some cities was popular, — the art of the 
actor. Baltimore gave the greatest freedom to this art; the other 
great cities frowned upon it or prohibited it. The theater did not 
present the fine surroundings now seen in it, but partook of the 
general roughness of the day. The portion of the house near the 
stage was called the pit, and was filled by Avhat are now called 
"gallery gods." The better class sat in boxes and seats above the 
pit; and the lower classes sat in the gallery. Seats were not re- 
served; but families would send their servants to occupy seats until 
they came, when the servants were dismissed. The play began at 
6.15 o'clock. The bills announced that persons must bring exact 
change or they could buy no tickets ; that they must not call upon 
musicians for their favorite airs ; and that if any one had a play of 
interest, he would confer a favor by lending it to the manager. 
Sheridan's, Shakespeare's, and O'Keefe's plays were popular ones, 
but more simple ones called out greater applause. Admission to the 
boxes Avas one dollar; to the pit, five shillings; and to the gallery, 
ninepence; consequently the theaters were crowded every night in 
the week. Opposition to the stage was very bitter. Philadelphia 
began the war against theatrical performers, and many essays 
appeared in the papers for and against. It was not until after the 
Revolution that actors dared show themselves in New England. 
All over the country there was a bitter fight, which, in some degree, 
still exists. 

In this discussion of the characteristics of the people an effort 
has been made to picture them just as they lived. The four great 
classes — the Cavaliers, Quakers, Dutch, and Puritans — were very 
distinct and carried out ideas very differently. In government. 



280 INSTITUTIONAL HISTORY OF UNITED STATES. 

education, religion, and customs we constantly see a difference. 
The ])utch soon gave up their life for a more anglicized one, and 
the Quakers were lost in the great questions that came upon the 
people; but their princij)les are often the origin of great reform 
movements of to-day. New England and Virginia, the Puritan and 
Cavalier, furnished the distinct features of colonial life. The great 
question of independence forced them into a partnership, and the 
great civil strife of later days cemented it. It has been a long, hard 
fight to turn the Cavalier, l*uritan, Quaker, and Dutchman into 
Americans; but the severe school of experience and necessity has 
done it; the great fight of local authority and national supremacy 
has ended on American soil. Each has taken its real place in 
government. 



CHAPTER XXIII. 

AMUSEMENTS. 

Colonial Amusements — Virginia Gazette — Games — Nature op Amuse- 
ments — South — North — New York — Boston. 

PLANS for entertaining the people were numerous in the colo- 
nies, especially in the South, and in no colony there more than 
in Virginia. The fine old plantation gentleman is proverbial for 
his hospitality and means of entertainment. A dance or barbecue 
was of frequent occurrence. Williamsburg was the center of society, 
especially during the session of the Assembly. Carnival ran high, 
for then gathered the oratory, learning, chivalry, and beauty of the 
colony. The Crown's officers led the styles and gave balls full of 
brilliancy and life. The inauguration of the governor was the event 
of the year. Both sexes engaged in the mirth for a few weeks; then 
the women fell back to their routine duties of the house, but many 
times the men continued their pleasures all the year. There was 
considerable wealth, and betting was a favorite pastime. Horse- 
racing was popular. Fox-hunting, cock-fighting, card-playing, and 
drinking were daily amusements, and all served for betting. Drink- 
ing parties were fashionable, at which the one who could drink the 
most won the prize. 

In the Virginia Gazette of October, 1737, the following is adver- 
tised: "On St. Andrew's Day there will be hoyse-racing and other 
amusements for the entertainment of ladies and gentlemen. 

" It is proposed that twenty horses run around a course of three 
miles for a prize of five pounds. 

" A hat worth 20 shillings to be cudgeled for and none to play 
"with their left hand. A violin to be played for by twenty fiddlers. 
Twelve boys of 12 years of age will run 112 yards for a hat worth 
12 shillings. A quire of ballads are to be sung for and each singer 
to have enough liquor to clear his windpipe. 

"A pair of silver buckles to be wrestled for by a number of 

281 



282 INSTITUTIONAL HISTORY OF UNITED STATES. 

5'oung men. A pair of hamlsome shoes to be danced for. A pair of 
handsome silk stockings to be given the handsomest yonng country 
maid that appears on the fiehi. There -will be many other whim- 
sical and comical diversions too numerous to mention. 

" As this mirth is designed to be purely innocent and void of 
offense, all persons resorting there are desired to behave themselves 
with decency and sobriety. The subscribers are resolved to dis- 
countenance all immorality with the utmost rigor." 

Sack-races, hogshead-races, and climbing greased poles prevailed 
everywhere. Bull-baiting and horse-penning, accompanied by a 
dance and barbecue, called out the whole surrounding districts. 
Oxen, pigs, and sturgeons were roasted whole at the barbecues, and 
the lower classes usually became intoxicated. In the South daily 
life on the plantation was isolated, so that men eagerly gathered at 
all meetings. Farmers gathered at the little villages to play a 
game of billiards or cards for the drinks. Court session was a groat 
period of drinking and lighting. Differences were usually settled 
with the fists. Neither the modern knife nor pistol was yet used 
in personal encounter. The French introduced dueling later. 
Drinking and gambling were the evils of these amusements. Gam- 
bling was alarmingly popular with all classes. Laws and penalties 
were imposed time and again, so prevailing was the practice, but 
the effort to stop it was generally unavailing. 

When some great event occurred, such as a victory in war by 
England, or the birthday of the king, there Avere alwaj's great 
rejoicings and feasting with illuminations, processions, and Punch 
and Judy sliow^s. Picnics, excursions, and Christmas festivities 
were enjoyed by all. The theater appeared as early as 1752 and 
became very popular. Marriages were always an excuse for feast- 
ing, dancing, and cards. We find this account of a supper served to 
a prominent person : Punch was served before dinner, wines of every 
make followed, and strawberries and ice-cream came in as varieties. 
The dinner came at an early hour in the afternoon and when finished 
the party sat about drinking wine \intil supper was served, and then 
came dancing, singing, and card-playing. Guests retired at ten 
o'clock, but dancers kept on until after midnight, when the gentle- 
men escorted their partners home. Sometimes for the fun of it, if 
the escort were a stranger to the place, the young lady ran away 
from him and let him lose himself in the swamps, where he would 
probably find himself when daylight came. 



AMUSEMENTS. 283 

Farther south than Virginia things were much the same, except 
that society was not on as high a level. Charleston was a great 
social center, and there the polish of society was even greater tlian 
in Williamsburg, but in the country districts the same could not be 
said. Everywhere the great vices were drinking and gambling. 
Women in the Carolinas, who did not drink, often outlived two or 
three husbands wlio did. However, women faded quickly in that 
climate, looking old at thirty. Life was indolent, sensual, and 
indulgent. All the amusements of the South partook of the dan- 
gerous element. Fighting was common, as stated above, but with 
only the weapons nature furnished, and the parties usually arranged 
just how the fight should be carried out. It was arranged by agree- 
ment whether the combatants should bite off an ear, gouge out an 
eye, or maim each other in some way. Gouging was usually allowed, 
and every bully grew a long thumb-nail, and used it to gouge out 
the eyes of his opponent, unless the latter called out " King's Cruse " 
or "enough." There was a law against gouging which would hang 
a man if he had punched out tlie eyes of two men, but the practice 
was a favorite one in fighting. Such were the amusements of the 
South, and the evils attending them. Many of their customs have 
been abandoned and would not be credited now. Yet these people 
in all their questionable amusements and amidst their excessive 
drinking and gambling preserved their patriotic manhood and char- 
acter for the great day of need in American independence and union. 
But the student should not feel that these evils did no harm; indeed, 
they did great harm, and the entire country is not yet freed from 
the excesses of colonial life. 

In the North a different character was noticeable in the amuse- 
ments. In Pennsylvania thei-e was much drinking on all occasions, 
and dancing was a favorite pastime. Marriage was an event of 
great jollity. Neighbors gathered in to cut timber and build the 
one little room the young people should call home. Then came the 
house-warming with unlimited drinking and dancing. At public 
meetings there was a great deal of savage fighting, and sometimes 
there were conflicts between the Irish and Germans. Indeed, those 
conflicts form rather a dark period in Pennsylvania's history. Such 
was life in the backwoods of the colony, but in the more settled 
districts it was not so rude nor so vicious. The farmers were pros- 
perous, and living Avas simple. The nearer one came to Phila- 
delphia, the wealthier the homes became. Here the peo})lo were 



284 INSTITUTIONAL HISTORY OF UNITED STATES. 

temperate, and habits were comparatively pure and primitive. 
Drinking was still carried to an excess on occasions such as a mar- 
riage. Seed-time, harvest, husking, cider-pressing, house-raising, 
shooting-matches, sleighing, and Christmas sports were always 
occasions of large gatherings. Fairs and sales drew both sexes 
largely and were occasions of boisterous fun and hard fighting, 
always with the fists. 

Amusements were not so popular in New Jersey as in her sister 
states. There was too much of the stern Puritan character. Stage 
plays, games, masques, revels, bull-baiting, and cock-fighting were 
discouraged, and card-playing even in one's house was punishable. 
Liquor-selling was prohibited at places of amusement. There were 
some drinking and horse-racing, and fairs were held, which the 
farmers enjoyed very much. New York had an occasional picnic, 
corn-husking, or spinning-bee, while in winter, skating and coasting 
were popular. There were horse-racing, bull-baiting, feasts, and 
tavern parties in that colony. In the city of New York, society, 
of course, was more gay. In fact. New York was the gayest city in 
the New World. Great luxury was displayed. Balls, theaters, and 
concerts were popular. The club for gentlemen was organized, but 
gambling was not so prevalent. Generally speaking, tlie amuse- 
ments of all classes in the city were wholesome. A stroll in the 
park on Sunday, and barbecues, fireworks, and dancing were the 
chief diversions of the people. Holidays, originating with the Dutch, 
were taken up by the English and many were observed. Christmas, 
New Year's day, Passover, Whitsuntide, and St. Nicholas were fes- 
tival days. St. Valentine's day, Easter, May day, and celebrations 
of events furnished many days of pleasure. Pinkster was a day of 
fun for the negroes, who had a picnic and dance, sometimes very 
indecent, yet witnessed by all the people of the town. 

New England furnished, a soberer aspect of life than tlie other 
colonies. Life consisted of so much precision that its monotony was 
like a pall hanging over the people. Enjoyment was no great part 
of a Puritan's life. Neighbors would gather about one another's 
fireplace to shell nuts, make brooms, chat, tell stories, play simple 
games, and sometimes dance. The New England women did a great 
deal of visiting. The house-raising was an event of importance; 
this was followed by feasting, dancing, and drinking, tliougli rarely 
to an excess. Quiltings, huskings, spinning-bees, sleigh rides, pic- 
nics, tea parties, supper parties, and dancing parties were common 



AMUSEMENTS. 285 

and increased as the country grew older. Holidays were few. 
Thanksgiving and Fast day were religious days, and the election 
and training days occurred four times yearly. Running, wrestling, 
boxing, pitching quoits, and shooting at marks were favorite pas- 
times on training-day. 

In Boston amusements were changed by the English from the 
Puritan aspect to suit the more jolly disposition of the English 
officers. Besides all the sports named above, theaters, though 
strongly resisted, were introduced, but secured no strong foothold 
till after the Revolution. The lecture was very popular. On an 
average six nights out of seven would find a lecture in Boston liber- 
ally patronized. Weddings were quiet affairs, seldom officiated at 
by a clergyman, but generally by a justice of the peace. This sim- 
plicity finally passed away in New England, and the marriage occa- 
sioned as much merry-making as in the other colonies. Great 
pomp and state were observed at funerals, and expenses became so 
extravagant that they were regulated by law. After the burial the 
people returned to the house and feasted and drank. Balloon-flying 
and parachute-jumping were engaged in after the Revolution in all 
the colonies. Nearly all the more modern sports and entertain- 
ments had their origin before 1800. The reader will notice that 
life in the colonies was interesting and eventful. It is well to think 
of history as life made up not only of great events and men, but 
also of daily pastimes and ordinary characters. 



CHAPTER XXIV. 

SICKNESS AND MEDICINE. 

Doctor's Standing — Medical Schools — Treatment — Virginia — Pennsyl- 
vania — French and Indian War — New England — Inoculation. 

IN many of the colonies, the cloctov was not a highly prized per- 
sonage, but in others he was ; and his popularity increased as 
the years went by, so that he became a very important accession to 
a town. Before 1776 there were but two medical schools in the 
country, and a doctor's education was not very good. Most physi- 
cians secured their education in the office of some practitioner in 
Boston and New York. Subjects for dissecting were hard to get, and 
medical knowledge was derived from experience more than from 
books. The doctor was his own apothecary. The rule was to dose 
heavily with medicines. It is said that well people, a half-century 
ago, took more medicine than sick ones do now. Every spring some- 
thing was taken to purify the blood, purge the bowels, excite the 
kidneys, and move the bile, whether anything was the matter or not. 
Water was wholly denied the fever patient. Compounds of medicine 
were taken till the lips turned blue and the gums fell away from 
the teeth. The fainting patient was profusely bled. Cupping and 
leeching were often prescribed. Powdered cinchona bark was the 
only cure known for malaria. Vaccination was not known till 1798. 
It was s\ipposed to be punished by divine power. Smallpox was as 
prevalent then as pneumonia is now. Yellow fever was as common 
in all its horrors in the Northern towns as it is now far South. 
There was nothing to kill pain, as chloroform and ether do now. 

As said above, early in colonial life the medical profession was 
not a very high one. In Virginia it was very Ioav indeed. Laws 
regulated fees in 1657. A little later bills of surgeons might be 
made against an estate of a deceased person. One shilling per mile 
was allowed as the charge of a physician's visit, and all medicines 

28C 



SICKNESS AND MEDICINE. 287 

must be carefully placed in the bill. Setting a fracture "was worth 
two pounds by law. If it were a compound fracture, four pounds 
might be charged. Physicians who held university degrees might 
charge double. 

The physician was given great prominence in Pennsylvania, but 
he had often to make his living by farming or some trade, so little 
pay was in the profession. In 1766 an examination was made nec- 
essary to the practice in New Jersey. This law freed the profession 
from quacks and rapidly advanced it. It was necessary for doctors 
to ride miles in their practice, sometimes consuming two weeks on 
a round of visits. 

The French and Indian War had a marked influence on the pro- 
fession. Indeed, the usefulness of the profession, in this country, 
dates from that time. In the War, army surgeons Av^ere called for, 
and all the quacks of the country presented themselves ; the alarm- 
ing and disgraceful condition of so noble a profession was for the 
first time noticed. Any one might be a physician regardless of 
preparation. There was no protection against malpractice. About 
1760, states began to license physicians on an examination, and then 
an advance was perceptible. A few years later, Harvard and the 
University of Pennsylvania both established medical schools, and 
men of ability began to enter the profession. 

In New England, the clergy were often physicians, having 
studied medicine in connection with theology. The school teacher 
was sometimes a doctor and infrequently some trade was connected 
with the work. The first medical work was Thacher's " Brief Kule 
to guide the People in Smallpox," published in 1677. Inoculation 
was bitterly opposed, as stated above. Dr. Boylston introduced the 
system, and Cotton Mather was its great champion. It was ojiposed 
because it anticipated the plans of God, and was very expensive. 
As late as 1774, the hospital on Cat Island was burned because it 
was thought it would be used for inoculating patients. 

The reader will easily comprehend the great growth of medicine 
since colonial days. There are now many different schools and the 
profession is to-day filled with learned and able men. 



CHAPTER XXV. 

TERRITORIAL GROWTH. 

Boundary OF 1783 — Jay's Treaty — Treaty of Ghent — Webster-Ashbur- 
TON Treaty — Louisiana — Florida — Texas — New Mexico and Cali- 
fornia — Gadsden Purchase — Oregon — Alaska. 

THE treaty made with England in 1783 established the inde- 
pendence of the United States, and gave it the following 
boundary : North, the Highlands dividing the rivers that flow to the 
St. Lawrence from the rivers that flow to the Atlantic Ocean, tlie 
Connecticut River from its sonrce to parallel 45 degrees north, said 
parallel to its intersection with the St. Lawrence, the middle of the 
lake and St. Lawrence waterway to Long Lake, the middle of this lake 
and the water connections beyond it to the northwesternmost corner 
of the Lake of the Woods, and a. line drawn due west from this point 
to the Mississippi Eiver. West, the middle of the Mississippi River 
to parallel 31 degrees north latitude. South, parallel 31 degrees to 
Chattahoochee River, the middle of the stream to its junction with 
the Flint, a straight line drawn from this junction to the head of St. 
Mary's, and the middle of St. Mary's to the sea. East, the ocean, 
including all islands within twenty leagues of the coast, save such 
as belong to Nova S(?otia; the middle of St. Croix River from its 
mouth to its source, and a straight line drawn due north from snch 
source to the place of beginning. 

The treaty gave to the United States that territory the colonists 
had claimed, but there was snch a dispute as to what the claim was 
and so little certainty over boundaries that nothing definite could be 
established. America claimed the St. John's to be the boundary 
line between New England and Nova Scotia, and the English 
held that the Kennebec was. America understood that the St. 
Lawrence from its intersection with the 45th parallel was the 
northern boundary, but accepted the Connecticut from its intersec- 
tion with that parallel. She also advocated that the middle of the 

288 



TERRITORIAL GROWTH. 289 

Mississippi was the western boundary, wliicli had been the dividing 
line between Spain and England in 1763 ; but England claimed that 
this boundary was a line between the Atlantic streams and the Mis- 
sissippi valley. England woidd yield to the Americans south of the 
Ohio, but held out strongly for the territory north as a part of 
Canada. Spain had ceded Florida to England in 1763, but in her 
war with England in 1779-83 she had regained most of it, and in 
the Treaty of 1783 wanted all of Florida and the eastern half of the 
Mississippi valley south of the Ohio. America held that the 31st 
degree should be the northern boundary of Florida, to which Eng- 
land agreed, providing a secret clause could be put in the treaty 
making a parallel passing through the mouth of the Yazoo the 
boundary if England succeeded in keeping Florida, which she did 
not; so the boundary became 31 degrees north latitude by Eng- 
land's agreement. In the Treaty of 1763 Florida extended to the 
Yazoo, and Spain claimed that parallel, but released her claims in 
1795 in favor of the United States. 

On the north it was not settled as to which river was the St. 
Croix. This was settled in favor' of the United States by a joint 
commission, in 1798, arranged for in Jay's Treaty. The Treaty of 
Ghent in 1814 divided the disputed boundary question into four 
parts and referred them to three joint commissions. The first com- 
mission was to deal with the disputed islands in Passamaquoddy Bay 
and Bay of Fundy ; the second, to locate the line from the head 
of the St. Croix to the St. Lawrence ; and the third should de- 
termine and mark the lake and St. Lawrence boundary to the 
head of Lake Huron and the remaining section to the Lake of 
the Woods. The first commission completed its work in 1817. 
The third commission reported in 1822, but could not settle the 
boundary from Lake Huron to the Lake of the Woods. The second 
could not agree, and its work was completed by the Webster-Ashbur- 
ton Treaty of 1842. Before this time (1814) it had been found that 
a line due west from the northwest point of the Lake of the 
Woods would never reach the Mississippi. The northern boundary 
of the Louisiana territory was also a disputed point. These were 
both fixed in 1818. 

The ownership of the Mississippi River was the most necessary 
thing to western development, in 1800, that had until then been 
felt. In 1763 France, then claiming half the river, had given Eng- 
land free navigation of the same in the treaty that surrendered 



290 INSTITUTIONAL HISTORY OF UNITED STATES. 

her eastern claims to England ; and in 1783 England and the United 
States had agreed that the river should forever be open to the 
people of England and the United States. ]>ut the Pope declared 
that as far as the United States was concerned, these treaties were 
null. In 17C3 Spain owned the western side of the river and the 
island of New Orleans, and in 1783 she secured Florida again. 
Then north of the parallel of 31 degrees the line between the 
United States and Spain was in the middle of the river, but south 
of that line Spain owned all the river, and this left the western 
settlers wholly at the mercy of Spain for a convenient outlet. 
Spain was a jealous and uncertain neighbor. The first ten years 
of independence she disputed the claims of the United States to 
the lower East Mississippi valley, and kept troops in the territory. 
Sometimes she opened up the Mississippi, and sometimes closed it. 
A trader who started to New Orleans or the Gulf might not be 
allowed to get through. One conld not tell from one day to the 
next how it would be. It became so serious that the West threat- 
ened to secede, conquer New Orleans, and form a new government. 
This uncertainty continued until 1795, when Spain gave the United 
States the right to the river, and also acknowledged her claims to 
the territory ; but the local authorities often broke the treaty, and 
it became plain that the United States must own and control the 
Mississippi or give up the vast resources of the great West. In 
1800 Napoleon compelled Spain to cede Louisiana to France. This 
was at first kept secret, but when it became known it caused the 
wildest excitement in the United States ; for France was stronger 
than Spain and could not be trusted any better. Delegates were 
sent to Paris to purchase the island of New Orleans for .f 2,000,000. 
Napoleon proposed the sale of all Louisiana, and the United States 
hastened to purchase it for f 15,000,000. There were now (1804) 
more than 1,000,000 people in the West, which made up 18 
per cent, of the Avhole population. They needed only the great 
river to insure peace and prosperity ; now they had it, and the 
boundary of the United States became, roughly, the Pocky Afoun- 
tains on the west, Mexico on the southwest, and Florida and the 
Gulf on the south. 

France divided her territory in the New World in 1703, and 
gave all on the west of the Mississippi to Spain, and all east to 
England. Spain at the same time gave Florida to England. Eng- 
land gave it back to Spain in 1783. It now became a menace to the 



TERRITOKIAL GROWTH. 291 

United States because it held the mouths of important rivers, 
thereby controlling the navigation of the same; and also held 
marauding bands of pirates who crossed the line and preyed on 
the Americans, then recrossed into their native territory. To pro- 
tect the Southern States, Florida must be secured in some way ; it 
was as important as Louisiana, then, or more so. Spain was heavily 
in debt to the United States for depredations on her seamen. The 
latter country pressed the Pope, who acted for Spain, for settlement 
of the several claims; and in 1819 he sold Florida to the United 
States for $5,000,000, which was to be paid to the United States 
merchantmen. 

Before 1819 it was thought that the Louisiana Purchase extended 
south to the Eio Grande, and so in the Florida purchase the United 
States relinquished all claims to Texas. In 1821 Mexico became 
independent. Texas then belonged to Mexico, and so remained 
until 1836, when she seceded and became the "Lone Star" state, 
remaining independent until 1845, when she was annexed to the 
United States with the condition that she might be divided into 
several states. 

When Texas came into the Union, she brought her old quarrel 
with Mexico over her boundary. Mexico claimed the Nueces ; and 
Texas, the Eio Grande. The disputed territory was held by the 
United States, and with it, by the treaty at the close of the Mexican 
War in 1848, were secured New Mexico and California, for which 
was given $15,000,000. New Mexico originally included Utah, 
Nevada, and much of Arizona, Colorado, and the present boundary 
of New Mexico. 

The Gila Kiver region soon brought out a dispute. The Mesilla 
valley was claimed by both the United States and Mexico. War 
seemed the inevitable result of the claim, but in 1853 the United 
States bought the territory for f 10,000,000. 

The northwest coast presented a variety of claims ; Spain, Eng- 
land, Holland, Germany, Eussia, Greece, and the United States each 
held claims, which finally resolved themselves into conflicting claims 
between the United States and England. Spain's claim ran back to 
1543. Eussia claimed that Oregon was but an extension of Alaska. 
England based her claims on Drake's voyage in 1580; and the 
United States, on Lewis and Clarke's expedition. The name Oregon 
is Spanish and means " big ear," so named from a tribe of Indians 
in the territory. 



292 INSTITUTIONAL HISTORY OF UNITED STATES. 

Ill 1792 Captain Gray entered the river which he named Colum- 
bia, taking the place of the name Oregon given it by the Spaniards. 
On this voyage and the expedition of Lewis and Clarke, the United 
States rested its claims. In 1811 Mr. Astor founded Astoria at the 
mouth of the Columbia. In 1819 Spain ceded her rights to the 
United States, and in 1824 Russia agreed to make no settlements 
south of 54 degrees 40 minutes, and the United States was to make 
none north of that line. In 1825 lUissia and England made similar 
agreements. These several treaties fixed the northern and southern 
boundaries and excluded Spain and Russia from the territory, leav- 
ing England and the United States in the field; and in 1818 they 
agreed to leave the territory open for settlement by both countries 
for ten years. In 1828 the time was extended indefinitely, with the 
provision that one should give the other a year's notice to terminate 
the treaty. By 1845 settlements were so numerous, Americans being 
in the majority, that the boundary line was drawn at 49 degrees, and 
through the middle of the strait and sound. A later dispute arose 
over this water line, which was settled in 1872 by the Emperor of 
Germany. The United States at last had secured its rights to the 
Oregon territory, which rights were based on Gray's discovery of 
the Columbia River in 1792 ; Lewis and Clarke's expedition, 1803- 
1806 ; the founding of Astoria, 1811 ; the Spanish treaty, 1819 ; the 
Russian treaty of 1824; settlements from 1832 to 184G; and the 
treaties of 184(3 and 1872. Other claims were based on the fact that 
the territory was contiguous and a part of the Louisiana Purchase, 
but the United States had no right to Oregon from the Louisiana 
Purchase. 

Behring, a German seaman in the Russian employ, discovered 
Behring Strait in 1728 and the North American Continent in lati- 
tude 58 degrees 28 minutes in 1741. This was the basis of Russia's 
claim to Alaska. As early as 1848 there was some agitation over 
the purchase of Alaska, and again in 1858, which continued until 
1867, when the United States purchased the territory for $7,200,000. 
The purposes of this purchase were several : fur trade, trade with 
China and Japan, and the growing belief in Garfield's words that 
the " Pacific would be the historic sea of the future." By owning 
Alaska, the United States gained more of this future history. The 
idea that the American Continent is for Republican government only 
has become a fixed principle, and this purchase removed another 
monarchy from the soil, The friendship existing between Russia 



TERRITORIAL GROWTH. 293 

and the United States, and the belief that England was seeking the 
territory, had no little influence in bringing about the transaction. 
Now the great question is, Should the United States secure the gap 
between Alaska and the rest of her territory by another purchase, 
thus uniting the two ? Events point toward the necessity of such 
a move. 

Beginning with 819,815 square miles of territory in 1776, the 
United States is now (1897) 121 years from commencement, pos- 
sessed of the enormous territorial area of 3,501,509 square miles, an 
area which Mr. Gladstone says " is a natural basis for the greatest 
continuous empire ever established by man." 



CHAPTER XXVI. 

MANUFACTURES. 

Colonial Period — England's Policy — Revolutionary Period — From 1783 
TO 1789 — Invention — Patent Office — Decrees and Orders — Union 
Manufacturing Company — Connecticut — New Hampshire — 1808 to 
1812 — War of 1812 — Tariff. 

NOT much can be said of manufacturing during the Colonial 
Period. It was England's policy that America should not 
build up such for herself, but should receive all goods from Phigland 
in English vessels. The Navigation Act of 16G0 was enforced by 
Admiralty Courts, appointed by royalty. It was made more rigid 
by an act in 1699, which provided that after the first day of Decem- 
ber, 1699, no wool, or manufacture of wool, or goods mixed with 
wool in America, should be loaded on any ship or vessel on any 
pretense whatsoever, or loaded on any horse, cart, or carriage to be 
carried out of the colonies. This law was made because wool was 
a valuable product in England, and the American wool must be 
kept off the market. Under this law, one colony could not even 
carry wool into another. The people in Virginia had either to make 
their own clothing or go unclothed, and the governor advised Par- 
liament to forbid the people making their own clothing. Every- 
where the law was disobeyed, even quite openly, so unjust did they 
think it. 

An act passed Parliament in 1704, that not even a tree fit for a 
mast should be cut north of the Delaware River without the royal 
consent. For twenty years affairs moved along under this policy. 
In 171S Massachusetts dared place a duty on English goods sent 
into the colony. The Crown vetoed the measure, and warned the 
people that such acts were dangerous to their charter. Hats were 
made in the country in 1719, but the London Company of Hatters 
objected, and Parliament forbade the work. There were only six 
iron furnaces and nineteen forges at that time, and these were 

294 



MANUFACTURES. 295 

limited in the work they did. Duties were laid on goods manu- 
factured in America. In spite of the lynx-like watchfulness of 
England, manufactures prospered to some extent. By 1750 the 
manufacture of iron had grown so important, that Parliament gave 
it extra attention, and an act was passed forbidding the manufacture 
of spikes and nails, and it also forbade the erection of any mill for 
slitting or rolling iron, and any forge for making steel and bar-iron. 
A law was enacted in 1760 that the colonists should not export 
sugar, tobacco, cotton, indigo, ginger, dyeing woods, molasses, rice, 
pelts of any kind, copper ore, pitch, tar, turpentine, masts, yards, 
bowsprits, coffee, pimento, cocoanuts, whale fins, raw silk, hides, 
skins, nor potashes, except to England or ports she should name. 
No foreign ship was allowed to enter a colonial port. Salt could 
come into the ports of New England, New York, Pennsylvania, and 
Quebec. Great Britain practically became the storehouse for all 
American supplies. 

The people were not allowed to ferry wool across a river. They 
did not dare print the Bible, and it is a remarkable fact that not an 
English Bible was printed in America until after 1776. Not a hat 
could be moved beyond its own town. Everything that the colonists 
could make was taxed out of existence, and everything they had to 
buy abroad was loaded down with duties. England, while tending 
towards freer trade, was literally trying to crush the life out of 
American manufacturing. 

Such was manufacturing in America before 1776. During the 
Revolution not much was done towards increasing the advantages. 
At the close England placed enormous duties on all goods shipped 
to America. The states could not now object, since they were inde- 
pendent; but they could retaliate, and did. Immediately a great 
cry arose for protection. Pennsylvania as early as 1785 proposed a 
bill to her Assembly that placed a protective duty on more than 
seventy articles, including iron and steel. It ended by petitioning 
Congress to take steps for the general good. It was this looseness 
in trade, and the limiting of trade between states, and their non- 
agreement on import duties, that forced them into a better union, 
and to adopt the Constitution. 

It was during this period, however, 1783 to 1789, that New 
England began that system of manufacturing which dotted all her 
streams with the busy homes of trade. Cotton and woolen goods 
formed this beginning. Rude patterns of the Arkwright machine 



296 INSTITUTIONAL HISTORY OF UNITED STATES. 

were set iip. The spinning- jenny was mucli opposed, and at first 
was used secretly. Mobs broke into shops and destroyed the 
machines, and the inventor was often in danger of his life. But a 
change came. England, once ready to mob Arkwright for his inven- 
tion, soon knighted him for the same reason, and took steps tliat 
no model should leave the country. The United States sent a man 
to England to steal a model, and one was made in brass, but was 
discovered and destroyed just on the eve of shipment. But help came 
from another source. Two Scotchmen in the country knew some- 
tliing of the spinning-jenny, and these men were given six tickets 
in a land lottery, from the money of which they made the first 
cotton-spinning machines in the country. A Mr. Somers about tlie 
same time went to England, and at great risk studied different 
machines there, and secured models of some. The Massachusetts 
legislature gave him money to advance his work, and he succeeded 
in i)utting up a model of Arkwright's machine, so that by 1790 this 
machine, so carefully guarded by England, was operating in the 
manufactories of the United States. Thus was New England work- 
ing under the guidance of a few clear heads, while the rest of the 
country was quarreling over duties, taxes, etc. 

When the Federal government was organized, it gave its first 
attention to manufacturing and trade. The policy, to restrain for- 
eign trade, except when it was reciprocal, and to increase home 
manufactures, was a popular one. Societies for the promotion of 
manufactures were organized over the country. " Importation must 
be checked " was the cry everywhere. The members of the society 
in Delaware pledged themselves to appear each New Year's day in 
American-made goods, to foster the growth of flax and wool, and to 
discourage the purchase of cloth abroad. This was the sentiment of 
the country, and the result was a return to old colonial simplicity. 
Jeans was worn. Young women wove and made their own cloth- 
ing. Men drank home beer, and Washington, when he took his 
oath of office, was dressed in garments that were the product of 
American soil and ingenuity. Young women would have spinning- 
bees; old spinning-wheels were brought out, and the petted daughter 
of the aristocracy proudly learned their use. 

Here we should stop long enough to notice that great storehouse 
and preserver of so much of the machinery and inventions of United 
States, — the Patent Office. The credit of the sj^stem belongs to 
Jefferson. He is the father of the American Patent Office. It Avas 



MANUFACTURES. 297 

established iu 1790, with the Secretary of State, Secretary of War, 
and Attorney-General as a board of commissioners to examine and 
grant patents. The first year, 1790, but three patents were issued; 
the next, thirty-three ; the next, eleven ; the next, twenty ; and only 
two hundred and sixty-eight, all told, by 1800. Examinations were 
most rigid, and there was no appeal. This wholesale refusal of 
patents created a great clamor, and a change was demanded. The 
granting of patents was given to the Secretary of State, and he was 
required to grant patents for anything that might not prove harm- 
ful to the people. For forty-three years this law continued, and 
Congress was again called to meet the evils of the system. In 1836 
the Post-office Building, in which was the Patent Office, was burned 
to the ground; there were then 7000 models in the building, and all 
were burned. In this list of models there were a grain culler, dock 
cleaner, threshing machine, candle machine, machine for turning 
iron into steel, and the cotton-gin; this last is the most remarkable 
invention of any age in its influence on history. The prosperity of 
cotton began from that time, and the development of slavery was 
giant-like. 

At present the Patent Office is in charge of the Interior Depart- 
ment, and presided over by a commissioner. A patent right now 
runs seventeen years without renewal except by Congress. More 
than 400,000 patents have been granted by the office. 

Manufactures were not greatly cherished the first fifteen years 
of national life. England was as much the storehouse of American 
supplies as in the days gone by, when she held control of the com- 
merce. When the Milan and Berlin Decrees, the Orders in Council, 
and Embargo Act checked this foreign trade in 1807, exports 
amounted to $168,000,000 annually, and imports to f 138,000,000. 
But the Decrees and Orders placed this carrying trade in a new 
light. It was seen that the United States should not only be politi- 
cally independent, but industrially so. The question was asked, 
" What shall become of a people who cannot cast a cannon, weave 
a blanket, nor make a flannel shirt, or pair of socks?" 

Manufactures had rather decreased in these years, and agricul- 
ture and commerce became the leading lines of work, but the 
Embargo broke up this system and began an era of manufacturing. 
At Baltimore, December, 1807, the citizens held a meeting in the 
interest of home manufactures, and a committee was appointed. 
This committee addressed the people in circular letters, which were 



298 INSTITUTIONAL HISTORY OF UNITED STATES. 

SO well received that in March, 180S, the Union Manufacturing 
Company of Maryland was organized, and stock began to sell. This 
was the real beginning of manufacturing, and its development be- 
came the rage all over the country. Premiums were offered on 
broadcloth, forest cloth, fancy cloth, thread, etc. The South Caro- 
lina Homespun Company was organized at Charleston, and sold a 
thousand shares in one day. The Petersburg Manufacturing Com- 
pany sold $25,000 worth of stock in a few hours. Virginia and her 
society for encouragement of domestic manufactures offered prizes 
on home-made linen, cotton cloth, and woolen cloth, and the militia 
agreed to appear on the 4th of July in Virginia cloth. Tennessee 
offered prizes for the best home-made cutlery, and declared itself 
opposed to foreign goods. Every large city formed societies to pro- 
mote home manufactures, and the people pledged themselves not to 
wear anything but liome-made goods. To be popular and have sales, 
salesmen had to advertise American goods. " The infant manufac- 
tories, like the infant Hercules, must strangle the serpent of British 
Influence." The craze spread to the state legislatures, and many 
passed resolutions that the members should appear in home-made 
goods. 

Connecticut turned her attention to the raising of sheep. The 
minister to Portugal sent home one hundred merino sheep, and 
the legislature appointed a committee to examine and report on 
the experiment. New Hampshire removed taxation from woolen 
and cotton manufactures. Pennsylvania laid a tax on dogs, and 
the commissioners used the money to buy merino sheep. New 
York offered a prize of f 50 to the first man to bring a merino 
ram into the state. Napoleon's invasion of Spain had caused the 
price of these flocks to decrease, and for a time the United States 
consul did nothing else but buy sheep and ship them to America. 
Rams brought f 500 in the American markets. Merino societies 
Avere formed, and the country seemed to go crazy over merinos. 

The reader should consider the condition of commerce at this 
time, for in that lies the source of all this agitation for home manu- 
factures. The Embargo Act, Non-importation Act, Erench Decrees, 
Orders in Council, l)ounties, exemption from taxes, pledges of the 
people to buy only homo goods, and the sympathy and help of legis- 
latures, all gave manufactures a great o])portuuity to start and 
develop. 

Mills, factories, workshoi)S, and foundries began to hum with 



MANUFACTURES. 299 

their busy wheels from Maine to Louisiana. From 1808 to 1812 
the industrial growth was wonderful. Woolen and cotton mills 
abounded in New England. Iron works, salt works, glass works, 
paper-mills, cotton-mills, thread-mills, and factories for making 
axes, scythes, and edged tools, were in New York. Chemical works, 
carpet-mills, type-foundries, and shot-towers existed in Pennsyl- 
vania. The wool-growing industry was prominent in Ohio, while 
the raising of hemp, and rope and hemp factories, with hat, boot, 
and shoe shops were plentiful in Kentucky. 

At the lifting of the Embargo Act there arose a great cry for 
protection. Labor societies were formed over the country for the 
purpose of regulating wages, and as many strikes were formed from 
1809 to 1812 as at any time in the history of the country. Unions 
were as rigid then as now, and the fight between labor and capital 
in America began in those years of rapid development of home-made 
goods, and is not yet settled. During the War of 1812 home manu- 
factures naturally increased, and at the close of the War there was 
a great quantity of goods on the home market, ready to be shipped 
to foreign markets as soon as the ports were open. A remarkable 
growth in commerce followed; for while the coarser materials were 
made at home, silks, satins, muslins, brocades, hardware, edged 
tools, Madeira, molasses, coffee, and tea were imported. British 
goods of this kind flooded the market, and men were wild to buy. 
At auction such goods sold at 300 per cent, advance. Again the 
country seemed to become British and forget itself. This craze of 
the people ruined the home manufactures, and made the English 
rich. There arose a feeling that industries should not be planted 
to draw men and women into towns, while the western lands were 
so broad, rich, and empty. Let the United States farm, and Eng- 
land make her goods, was a pretty widely distributed sentiment in 
1815 and 1816. 

But the tide turned, foreign buying subsided, and soon the 
people began asking the question why they should send $50,000,000 
yearly to England, when it could be kept at home. Cotton and 
woolen mills especially had been suffering, and were almost ruined; 
this industrial condition brought up the famous Tariff Bill of 1816, 
really the beginning of the protective system in America. (See 
article on Tariff.) From now on the growth of manufactures and 
the tariff are so closely linked that they can best be described 
together, for which see "Tariff." 



CHAPTER XXVII. 

MAIL. 

Before 1776 — Compared to the Present — To 1800 — Number of Offices 
— Hates of 1792 — Newspapers — Classification — Hates till Present 

! — Stamps — Registered Letters — Money Orders — Free Delivery — 
Franking — Appointments — Foreign Postage. 

IN 1G92 England authorized a general post-office system in British 
America, connecting the chief parts of the country. By 1695 
mail went eight times a year from Baltimore to Philadelphia. The 
system defrayed its own expenses. William III. appointed a post- 
master for the northern provinces. The system reached south as 
far as Maryland. In 1710 a post-office for all of the American colo- 
nies was established, and the rate of postage was fixed by Parlia- 
ment. All ferries were free to the mail service, and New York 
was made the center of mail routes. Some people fought the system 
because Parliament levied the rate, claiming that it was a tax, and 
that only the assemblies should tax the people ; but the benefits 
were so great that the opposition soon ceased. Newspapers were 
excluded from the mails. The mail routes extended from Williams- 
burg, Virginia, to Maine, by 1718 ; but there were but eight mails 
per year from Philadelphia to the Potomac, and to reach or leave 
Williamsburg, the carrier had to wait until enough letters had been 
received to pay to make the trip ; so that mail Avent at very irregu- 
lar intervals from Williamsburg to Philadelphia. Benjamin Franklin 
became postmaster-general in 1753, and served until 1774, Avhen he 
was dismissed from the office. 

Under his control the system grew, and even became a source of 
revenue to the CroAvn. Goddard, a printer of Baltimore, succeeded 
Franklin, and he proposed a Constitutional American Tost-office. 
Before this plan could he carried out, Independence was declared, 
and Franklin was reinstated with orders from Congress to establish 

300 



MAIL. 301 

a line of posts from Falmouth, in New England, to Savannah, 
Georgia, with as many cross-posts as he deemed necessary. Massa- 
chusetts established fourteen post-ofl&ces, and New Hampshire one, 
so that the posts, established by both the states and Congress, 
reached from Georgetown, Maine, to Savannah, Georgia. A distance 
of thirty miles was considered a fair day's travel for the post in 
summer, and in winter the distance was considerably less. 

Such was the beginning of the great mail service of the United 
States. Now it carries more than 600,000,000 letters annually over 
100,000,000 miles. More mail is now distributed daily in New York 
City than in one year over the entire country in Franklin's time. 
Letters went then from New York to Boston three times a week in 
summer, and twice a week in winter. Six days were needed for the 
journey. A pair of saddle-bags held the mail then. Mail went 
from New York to Philadelphia, after the Revolution, five times a 
week, and was carried by a boy on horseback. This was poor 
enough for the cities, but in the districts and towns of the frontier 
mail came at irregular intervals from once a week, to once in six 
weeks or two months. Letters would lie in the office for months 
because of lack of money to pay transportation, as then postage was 
paid by the receiver instead of by the sender. There was no secur- 
ity to the mail ; carriers opened mail along the route and read it, 
and no punishment could be meted out. Business men, and others 
who desired secret correspondence, wrote in cipher. Long after the 
Revolution nothing was safe in the mails if it could be read. 

After the Constitution was ratified, Samuel Osgood was made 
postmaster-general. Osgood resigned in 1791, and Timothy Picker- 
ing was appointed to fill the place. The duties were so slight and 
unimportant that the department was not made a cabinet office. 
From then until now, what a growth ! In 1776 there were 28 post- 
offices in the United States ; in 1790, 75 ; in 1795, 453 ; now there 
are more than 70,000. The yearly revenue then was $25,000, now it 
is f 75,000,000. The postage was according to the distance, and was 
36 cents from New York to Savannah. The first attention towards 
increasing the speed of the mail was given by Jefferson while Secre- 
tary of State. It was the desire to carry it 100 miles every 24 
hours, letting riders take it by day, and stages by night ; but the 
country was too poor to furnish coaches. By a law passed in 1792, 
the rates of postage were as follows : Single letters (and by single 
letters was meant one written on a single sheet, two sheets made 



302 INSTITUTIONAL HISTORY OF UNITED STATES. 

a double letter, three a triple, etc., and charges -were made accord- 
ingly), to 30 miles, G cents ; 30 to GO miles, 8 cents ; GO to 100 
miles, 10 cents ; 100 to 150 miles, 12 cents ; 150 to 200 miles, 15 
cents ; 200 to 250 miles, 17 cents ; 250 to 350 miles, 20 cents ; 350 to 
450 miles, 22 cents ; 450 miles and over, 25 cents. 

Newspapers were admitted as mail matter by the same law, and 
one cent was charged for each paper for any distance less than 100 
miles. Beyond that distance the rate was a cent and a half. There 
was much grumbling over the newspaper rate, as the subscriber 
would have to pay the postage on taking his paper from the office. 
The subscription price alone of a paper was f 8 per year : it was not 
fair, they claimed, to place a tax on the newspaper, which would 
make it higher. It was feared that people would not take the 
papers. The law did not include books and magazines, and the 
Postmaster-General absolutely refused to admit them into offices at 
all, and many were forced to suspend. 

The law of 1792 expired in June, 1794, and then some changes 
were made ; carriers were employed in the large cities, and two cents 
per letter was allowed them for the work ; postage on newspapers 
was reduced to one cent for transportation inside the state where 
printed. If the size of the mail would permit, magazines and 
pamphlets were taken at one cent a sheet for 50 miles or less, 
half as much more for the next 50 miles, and ten cents when the 
distance was more than 100 miles. 

Now, mailable matter is divided into four classes : letters ; pub- 
lications ; books, circulars, and transient newspapers ; and merchan- 
dise. The postage on letters is two cents for each ounce or fraction 
of an ounce. Drop letters are two cents in a free delivery office, 
and one cent elsewhere. Postal cards are one cent each. Regular 
publications are admitted at one cent a pound, where they are issued 
at least four times a year. Periodicals are sent free to subscribers 
in the same county as the publication. Books, pamphlets, circulars, 
etc., go for one cent for two ounces or fractions thereof. The limit is 
four pounds unless it is a single book. Merchandise is entered at 
one cent an ounce with the limit at four pounds. The change to 
these rates from the rates of 1792 was slow. Letters continued at 
the old rate, until 1845, when postage was reduced to five cents for 
300 miles and less, and to ten cents for a longer distance. In 1851 
the rate was lowered to three cents for .'JOOO miles if prepaid and to 
five cents if not j)repaid. These rates were doubled if the distance 



MAIL. 303 

was greater. Since 1855 prepayment of postage has been necessary. 
In 1863 a uniform rate of three cents was established, which was 
reduced to two cents in 1883, and one ounce was made the limit for 
that rate in 1885. 

Down to 1845, letters were single or double as described above. 
In that year a half-ounce was called a single letter. 

Postage stamps came into use in 1847, though some were known 
in the Colonial Period. Stamped envelopes were first used in 1852, 
and postal cards in 1872. The registered letter system was estab- 
lished in 1855. A fee of eight cents is charged besides the postage 
for such a letter. The government is in no way responsible for such 
letters if lost, except to try to find them. The postal money order is 
an outgrowth of the Civil War. A registered letter is not perfectly 
safe at any time, and during the War it was very unsafe if it had to 
pass through the army, since by special marks being put upon it, it 
advertised that it contained money. But a money order is only an 
order for money payable to the person whose name is given in the 
letter of advice. The letter of advice is sent by the postmaster with 
whom the money is deposited, to the postmaster where the money is 
to be paid. This is a convenient and cheap plan for sending money. 
One may send as much as $100 in one letter, and a charge is made 
according to the amount sent. 

Free delivery was authorized in certain places in 1863. This 
system has been extended to towns of 4000 inhabitants or more, and 
the immediate delivery of a letter is made in any town, and also at 
any country office within a mile limit, when it bears a special ten- 
cent stamp. 

The franking privilege, or the privilege of sending mail free, was 
allowed formerly to the President, Vice-President, cabinet officers, 
congressmen, and delegates from Territories. Washington, John 
Adams, Jefferson, and Madison held the privilege for life. At one 
time the same was given to all ex-Presidents and their widows. 
The privilege was abolished in 1873. In 1877 all mail concerning 
the business of the government and documents printed by Congress 
were given the privilege of a frank. 

Postmasters whose compensation is $1000 or more per year are 
appointed by the President ; when the compensation is less than that 
sum, they are appointed by the postmaster-general. The appoint- 
ments are for four years. The first class are paid salaries ; the 
second receive box-rents, a commission on canceled stamps, and office 



804 INSTITUTIONAL HISTORY OF UNITED STATES. 

receipts from other sources. At the present time (1897) the anni;al 
expenditures of the Post-office Department exceed the revenues l)y 
about $10,000,000; still the Department is a success, and a pro- 
gressive agency. 

Mail to foreign countries costs extra for postage. To all countries 
except Canada and Mexico the rates are as follows : letters, five 
cents extra; postal cards, two cents; and newspapers, one cent. 
Letters to Canada are two cents extra, and postal cards one cent 
extra. Letters and newspapers have no extra charge between 
United States and Mexico. 



CHAPTER XXVIII. 

THE FARMER. 

Colonial Period — Products — Virginia and Maryland — Georgia — 

Other States. 

IF one should attend market in Boston to-day, lie Avould find quite 
a different scene from the one a century ago and later. Pears 
and apples were plentiful, but not of the variety and quality of to- 
day. Raspberries and strawberries grew wild on the hills. Oranges 
and bananas were luxuries, which only the very rich could enjoy. 
Ice was not put to its many uses. Water came from the town 
pump, and butter hung in the well or in a damp corner of the cellar. 
Farms of that period were badly fenced, barns were small and poorly 
erected, and machinery was hardly known. The threshing-machine 
was invented in 1786, and the cast-iron wheeled plow, drill, reaper 
and binder, and hayrake are not a half-century old. The land was 
plowed with a wooden plow, grain was sowed broadcast, cut with a 
scythe, and threshed with a flail. 

Houses were without paint, and floors were without carpet ; often 
the ground served for a floor. Huge fireplaces, that took uj) a side 
of a room, were the common means of heating. Beef, pork, salt 
fish, dried apples, and vegetables were the usual daily fare. Wooden 
dishes, and a block for a table, would answer for serving a meal. 
Bread was usually made of rye or corn meal. White bread was 
served on occasions such as when the minister came, since he could 
not eat brown bread, as it gave him the heart-burn, which so affected 
him that he could not preach. Baked beans were a common dish. 

The clothing worn was of a rough kind ; for a special occasion, 
or for Sunday, a suit of broadcloth or corduroy was worn ; this 
usiially lasted a lifetime, and was sometimes bequeathed by father 
to son. The every-day suit was homespun or linsey-woolsey. 
Produce was not worth much, though after it left the farmer's 
X 305 



30G INSTITUTIONAL HISTORY OF UNITED STATES. 

hands and passed on to the market for the laboring classes, prices 
were high. Fox-grapes were luxuries for the rich a hundred years 
ago, and the time had not yet come when peaches, fine varieties of 
pears, tomatoes, rhubarb, sweet corn, egg-plant, and lettuce were 
common food. Hollyhocks, sunflowers, roses, snowballs, lilacs, 
pinks, and tulips Avere the common flowers of the yard. 

Virginia and Maryland were given up mostly to tobacco; the 
other Southern States raised cotton, rice, and tobacco, while the 
Central States raised the cereals. Pitch, indigo, and tar were from 
Georgia. Mills were not known. Grain was ground in a mortar, or 
by placing it in the hollow of one stone, and pounding it with another. 
Such was farming a hundred years ago. The great progress in agri- 
culture has been made in the last fifty years, since machinery 
has lifted so much of the burden, and modern methods and good 
markets give ample and quick returns. Variety in crops is now 
sought. Before 1750 Maryland raised nothing for export but to- 
bacco. After the French and Indian War, it turned its attention 
to the cereals, and soon exported a great deal of wheat. Virginia 
passed through much the same experience, and Baltimore became 
the largest depot for flour and wheat in the country. 

Pennsylvania had the thriftiest farmers and the best farms. 
Bond-servants worked them mostly, but they were well paid or well 
taken care of, and good work was done. The owner worked in the 
field with the hands, and food was plentiful and wholesome. Honey 
was made, and cattle raised. There were large orchards and gardens, 
and in many places fisli i~)onds. Farmhouses and their contents were 
better in Pennsylvania than elsewhere ; there were even some brick 
houses late in the Colonial Period. There was no luxury, but much 
solid comfort. Tea and coffee were used, and straw carpets came 
into use. By the middle of the last century the people in Pennsyl- 
vania had reached a solid degree of comfort. 

New Jersey was mainly devoted to farm life, but it did not reach 
so high a state as Pennsylvania. Farms were cleared out of the 
heavy forests, and were seldom fenced. The apple, peach, and pear 
trees were the only fruit trees to speak of. Improvements were not 
made very rapidly, and, of course, a degree of carelessness attended 
farming. 

New York was largely a trading colony, though its farming lands 
and produce were on an average with other colonies. Wheat was 
the main article. Houses were generally made of wood, with the 



THE FARMER. 307 

great fireplace at one side. No carpets were used before the Revo- 
lution. Furniture was plain, and solid and good living was tlie 
rule. Wood and pewter dishes were used until about 1750, when 
china came into more general use. Dress was mainly of homespun, 
and imported goods were little used. 

Agriculture and trade were evenly divided in New England. 
New Hampshire was mostly agricultural, Maine and Massachusetts 
were very equally divided between the two, Rhode Island was 
mainly a trading colony, and Connecticut was chiefly agricultural. 
Soil was generally very poor, and produced barely enough to keep 
the owner. Hay, grain, and cattle were exported. 

The life of a farmer in the Colonial Period was narrow and in an 
even track, but lie possessed the solid integrity and the native wis- 
dom that made him quite a factor in politics, religion, and govern- 
ment. He formed opinions, quite often correct ones, and then, as 
always, furnished the life and blood that kept up the city, where 
life wore itself away in overwork, worry, or debauchery. 



CHAPTER XXIX. 

THE LABORER. 
Past Condition — Sons and Daughters — Wages. 

THE laborer was once not nearly so fortunate as now. His house 
was poorer, food coarser and not so plentiful, clothing meaner, 
and wages not the half they are to-day. The unskilled laborer, he 
who sawed wood, ditched, carried brick, mixed mortar, or harvested, 
received on an average two shillings per day for pay, and sometimes 
$4 per week, when laborers were scarce. This was the condition of 
affairs about 1790, and then wages were nearly twice as great as they 
had been a few years before. On this sum the Avorkman had to clothe 
and feed his family, and keep himself out of jail for debts. In his 
home the walls were barren, sand served for carpets, the table was a 
block of wood, and there was no glassware nor china. Stoves were 
not known, coal was luidiscovered, and matches were never heard 
of; the laborer lit his lire with a flint or from coals brought from 
a neighboring house, and served his meal from wooden or pewter 
dishes. Fresh meat was a rare dish. Corn, wheat, and rye were 
dear. It took a day's work to pay for a bushel of corn, four days' 
to buy a bushel of wheat, and meat was worth ten pence per pound. 
There was no money to spare for watermelons, cantaloupes, or any 
other kind of fruit, though they were plentiful. The laborer's cloth- 
ing was coarser than his food. He wore a pair of yellow buckskin 
or leather breeches, checkered shirt, red flannel jacket, rusty felt hat, 
neat's-skin shoes, and a leathern apron. The leather was kept soft 
by frecpient greasing. 

The sous either followed the footsteps of the father or were 
apprenticed ; the daughter went out to service, where she mended, 
ran errands, milked, churned, carried water, often a great distance, 
spun, etc. For a year's work of this kind she received about $50. 
Yet from this she saved enough to start well when she married. 

308 



THE LABORER. 309 

If perchance tlie laborer became sick or met with an accident, 
and fell into debt, the prison stared him in the face ; or if death 
came, the widow and mother was often cast into a den of demons, 
called a jail, where she saw such sights and heard such noises as 
would make death a veritable blessing. 

The private soldier in the Eevolution received $3 per month, 
which was counted good pay; so good that a proposition to raise 
the wages was laid on the table in Congress. Members declared 
that they could employ men for $4 per month, who would board 
and clothe themselves. The pay on public works was accordingly 
low even later than the Eevolution. The diggers on the canal 
received $6 per month from May to November, and $5 per month 
from November to May. Hod-carriers, mortar-mixers, and chop- 
pers received less than $6 per month, usually $60 to $75 per year, 
and the day began at sunrise and ended at sunset the year round. 
Forty cents a day was good pay for daily laborers, and on the farm 
in Pennsylvania $6 per month was the pay in summer, and $5 in 
winter. The average rate of wages for yearly laborers, the colonies 
and states over, in 1800, was $65. Typesetters received 25 cents 
a thousand ems. This caused the publishers great distress, they 
claimed, and six New York papers raised their subscription from 
$8 to $10 per year on account of the high wages. 

The study of wages would teach many an agitator the great 
improvement in the condition of laborers during this century, and 
while this improvement is no excuse for the tyranny of capital, yet 
often it might serve to check impulses, and the workingman would 
let well enough alone. Many a laborer makes as much per day now 
as in a month 55 to 100 years ago. What he makes now will buy 
more than it would then. Indeed, the great increase in wages and 
the increased advantages to laborers have largely been brought 
about in the last quarter-century. 



CHAPTER XXX. 

LOTTERIES. 

Founding of Jamestown — Universality — Following the Revolution — 
Harvard and Yale — Laws — Washington — Federal Lotteries — 
Louisiana Lottery Company — Lottery Bills. 

THE lottery, which the government has been fighting so bitterly 
lately, and which is now only just driven from its stronghold 
iu Louisiana, where it was implanted under carpet-bag rule, has its 
right to exist from an old and established precedent. The begin- 
ning of the United States, now so great and prosperous, rests on a 
lottery. One of the means for securing money for the founding of 
Jamestown was a lottery, the proceeds of Avhich went to the London 
Company. For two hundred years after that time every organiza- 
tion, good or bad, from a church to a racecourse, raised its money 
most easily by a system of lotteries. Churches were built, minis- 
ters were paid, schoolhouses were erected, teachers hired, manufac- 
tures started, armies raised, all out of the proceeds of a lottery 
established by some society or by the government of a town, county, 
or colony. 

Immediately following the Kevolution there arose such a craze 
for lotteries as had never been known in the country. Hamilton's 
financial scheme turned the bills of credit, certificates, and interest- 
bearing currency, from worthless paper into interest-bearing notes 
at their full value with interest paid regularly. Men thus secured 
their money easily, and invested it in speculations, of which the 
lottery was the most popular. Hundreds were organized over the 
country to secure money to build schoolhouses, erect bridges and 
docks, build and repair churches and roads, and to establish foun- 
dries and glass works. 

Many years before this Harvard and Yale had both begun and 
perpetuated their existences by lotteries. There is hardly a great 

310 



LOTTERIES. 311 

institution — political, religious, educational, or industrial — that 
had its beginning back of the present century, but that was helped 
by a lottery. In the good times that followed the Kevolution the 
craze was intense, and men left the forge, the shop, the farm, and the 
professions to make fortunes rapidly at the wheel. The very few 
of course grew rich, but the many spent their all and suffered the 
misery of poverty. The system grew alarmingly. Connecticut and 
New Hampshire forbade the sale of tickets from other states. 
Manufacturing companies were allowed to raise only so many thou- 
sands of dollars each year by lotteries. The Massachusetts governor 
ordered all such means of raising public money to cease. 

The city of Washington was greatly improved from 1791 to 1800 
by numerous lotteries established for that purpose. After the corner- 
stone for the Capitol had been laid, the people went to speculating 
in lots and refused to build. To overcome this, the commissioners 
established what were called Federal Lotteries. Federal Lottery 
No. 1 was for the purpose of building a tavern which, after the 
French fashion, they called a hotel, as about that time this name 
for taverns was introduced from France. Fifty thousand tickets 
were sold, and 16,749 drew prizes; the others were blank. The 
first prize was the hotel, which was built with the proceeds of 
the lottery. It stood where the post-office now stands, and cost 
$50,000. The other prizes were paid in cash, ranging from $10 to 
$25,000 each. The price of a ticket was $7. 

In 1794 Federal Lottery No. 4 started with the same number of 
tickets and blanks as No. 1. Six fine houses and money were to 
go as the first prize. After all prizes were paid and all other 
expenses met, if any money were left it was to go to a national 
university. This lottery did not make a draw until 1799, and caused 
a great deal of trouble. At the same time there were three other 
lotteries in the city : one for the city of Patterson, New Jersey ; one 
for building the piers for a bridge across the Delaware ; and another 
for the Harvard College Library. 

With the strong hold lotteries had on all people, it is no little 
wonder that the government has had so hard a fight to destroy the 
Louisiana Lottery. The lottery system gradually died out and 
became unpopular, until by the time of the Civil War scarcely any 
state would have granted it the right to carry on its business. Just 
after the War, while Louisiana was under carpet-bag rule, the offi- 
cers sold the franchise to the Louisiana Lottery Company for 



812 INSTITUTIONAL HISTORY OF UNITED STATES. 

twenty-five years. It was a stupendous affair, making millions 
of dollars every year, and paying out many premiums, some very 
large ones. As the time neared for the expiration of the charter, 
the company sought to renew it, and offered a million dollars per 
year for a twenty-year charter. They increased this offer, but the 
people voted against it, and Congress passed Lottery Bill No. 1, 
making it unlawful to pass money or letters through the mails to 
and from a lottery, or to advertise one in any paper. The Louisiana 
Lottery had, therefore, to look for other fields. It was about to 
complete a deal with the queen of Hawaiian Islands, but she was 
dethroned before arrangements were completed, and the people 
refused to give the charter. Then a charter was secured in Hon- 
duras, but the real office was in Florida, where business was done 
by express. Congress has recently passed Lottery Bill No. 2, mak- 
ing it unlawful to send money by express to lotteries. This will 
probably destroy the company. Thus this government has finally 
dealt a death-blow to a business it once fostered and used to start 
some of its greatest institutions. Indeed, it has killed the business 
that gave the money for the first settlement. So things once con- 
sidered right are seen to be wrong by future generations, and thus 
humanity slowly but surely frees itself from evils. 



CHAPTER XXXI. 

WITCHCRAFT. 

Universality — Meaning — Massachusetts — General Moulton — Salem — 

Result. 

TWO hundred years ago all the world believed in witches. A 
witch was one who made a bargain with the devil, receiving 
the privilege to torment whomever she wished. The devil was very 
much like a man to most people, except that he had a tail, cloven 
feet, horns, and wings like a bat. It was believed he could give 
great power to a human being, making him able to raise storms, 
sink ships, afflict people, kill cattle, make chairs and tables dance, 
etc. A witch could make herself invisible, creep through keyholes, 
and ride on broomsticks through the air. To doubt the existence of 
witches, then, was the same as doubting the Bible. Thousands of 
men and women in the world's history have been burned and 
punished for witchcraft. It was the custom to tie the hands of the 
accused and throw her (the witch was generally a woman) into a 
pond of water; if she floated, she was a witch and was punished 
accordingly ; if she drowned, it was proof that she was innocent. 

The government of England in the seventeenth century had 
well-paid witch-hunters traveling over the country, who arrested 
whomever they chose. The body of the accused was examined 
for warts, pimples, or wens, which were sure signs that the bearer 
was a witch. These were the devil's marks. The Lord Chief- 
Justice of England, Sir Matthew Hale, the greatest of judges, con- 
demned many witches to death. Once two women were accused 
before him by a woman who was the mother of a child subject to 
fits. The evidence was as follows : A bee flew into the face of the 
child, which in a short time vomited a twopenny nail. Again, the 
child caught an invisible mouse and threw it into the fire, when it 
flashed iip like powder. A learned physician, Sir Thomas Brown, 

313 



814 INSTITUTIONAL HISTORY OF UNITED STATES. 

was called in to give his opinion on the matter. He declared that 
the fits were natural, but heightened by the devil cooperating with 
witches. The two women were found guilty and executed on this 
evidence by England's greatest judge, aided by her greatest physician. 

The cause of every strange thing was supposed to be witches. 
When the butter would not come, the cream was bewitched. A 
horseshoe, heated red-hot, was dropped into the churn, Avhich burned 
the witch so that she left it. A horseshoe nailed over the door 
would keep witches out. 

Witchcraft was by no means peculiar to America. The people 
in other countries had always believed in it from Biblical authority, 
they claimed, for the Jews were commanded not to allow a witch to 
live. There were believed to be three classes of witches : black 
witch, powerful to harm but unable to do good ; the white witch, 
who could help but not harm ; and the gray witch, who could either 
harm or help. 

Witches were punished in England until quite recently. In 1488 
a storm destroyed a great part of the country around Constance, 
Switzerland. Two women were accused of raising it, who, when 
arrested, confessed that the devil put them up to it. They were 
burned. In 1490 Pope Innocent VIII. ordered that all witches be 
burned. Pope Alexander VI. had 600 old women burned in one 
small district in Germany. In 1515, 500 witches were burned 
on the shore of Lake Geneva, in three months. In 1549 Cranmer, 
the great archbishop, directed his bishops, '' You shall inquire 
whether any one makes vise of charms, sorcery, enchantments, 
witchcraft, soothsayings, or any like craft invented by the devil." 
So the world rolled on until in a few years in the sixteenth century, 
more than 100,000 persons were killed. 

Books were written about Avitches and ministers preached about 
them. No wonder that New England believed in witchcraft. In 
1648 Margaret Jones was accused of being a witch, and was executed 
in Massachusetts. John Winthrop wrote in his diary that day that 
a great storm raged and did gi*eat havoc. It was thought that the 
devil was taking revenge for killing the witch. 

Hugh Parsons was a prosperous mechanic of Springfield, Massa- 
chusetts. He was accused of being a witch. A neighbor's wife 
said that she had a boiled pudding for dinner, and when she took it 
off the fire it was cut open as if by a knife. She threw a piece into 
the fire and Mr. Parsons happened to come to the door. He was 



WITCHCRAFT. 315 

thus accused of witchcraft. His wife became insane, and she was 
said to have sokl herself to the devil. Both were put into prison, 
and their neighbors testified to many things against them. One 
saw snakes in Mr. Parsons' room, and another saw fire around Mrs. 
Parsons' feet. One man's cow would not give down her milk, and 
another man had a pain in his breast, and both believed Mr. Parsons 
was responsible for their ills. In spite of all these testimonies, 
however, the accused escaped death. 

General Moulton of New Hampshire made money so fast that 
his neighbors thought the devil helped him. His house having 
burned, the people said the devil set it on fire because Moulton had 
deceived him. The devil had bargained to fill the General's boot 
with gold once a day. The first time it took several cart-loads to 
fill it, though it was not a large boot. On investigation, it was 
found that General Moulton had cut a hole in the sole of the boot 
and one in the floor, so that the gold rolled into the cellar. This 
made the devil mad and he burned the house. 

But the awful story of witchcraft in this fair land is centered 
in Salem, Massachusetts. The terrible tragedy originated with a 
negress and some young girls ranging from ten to twenty years old. 
Tibuta, the slave, belonged to Rev. Samuel Parris, who purchased 
her in Barbadoes. She was an ignorant, superstitious negress, 
believing in witches, imps, and devils. It was her practice to gather 
girls about her, draw a circle in the ashes, burn a lock of hair, and 
gibber over something. She claimed to be calling up the devil and 
his imps. The girls became so crazed over it, that they barked like 
dogs, mewed like cats, grunted like hogs, and had spasms. The 
town went wild with excitement and the girls, pleased with it, 
continued their strange conduct. On a Sunday in church while 
Mr. Parris was about to begin his sermon, one of the girls cried to 
him, " Now stand up and name your text " ; after he had read it, the 
same girl said, " It is a long one." The minister began preaching and 
another girl said, "There, we have had enough of that." Another 
said, " There is a yellow bird on the minister's head." 

The whole populace gathered to consider the matter. The girls 
claimed that Tibuta had bewitched them. She confessed to hurting 
the girls by order of the devil. The girls accused two more women 
of using their charms on them, and they were also arrested. Every- 
body believed the girls. A little girl five years old was arrested. 
The lieutenant-governor and his councilors, 600 men altogether, 



316 INSTITUTIONAL HISTORY OF UNITED STATES. 

sat as judges over these accused. One girl, Abigail Williams, 
testified that she saw a company of forty witches at Mr. Parris' 
house, holding sacrament, at which they drank blood, and that two 
of the accused women were the deacons. The craze spread and 
soon the prisons were full. Bridget Bishop was accused, and the 
judges thrust her into prison on the testimony of a negro that he 
had seen her creep through a hole no larger than his hand. 

What was to be done ? The Bible's command Avas to kill witches. 
England had executed 30,000, Parliament appointed a witch- 
finder, and King James wrote a book against witches. The best 
and greatest of earth had condemned and executed them. Was 
it strange that the best and greatest of America should do the 
same ? Out on Witches' Hill the condemned were hung, their bodies 
thrown into a hole, and the earth trampled upon them. Nineteen thus 
died. Giles Corey was crushed to death with rocks, and 150 men and 
women were cast into prison before the people wakened from their 
dreadful night of horror. When the spell broke, men considered the 
plausibility of the proofs they had accepted. The girls were ques- 
tioned and some acknowledged that they were only in fun, and when 
people ceased believing them they ceased their actions. Judge Sewall, 
with scorching tears rolling down his cheeks, publicly acknowledged 
his sin in condemning the victims, and kept a day of fasting every 
year after, as atonement. Thus it was that in a little town in the 
Avilds of America, witchcraft played its awful act in the tragedy of 
human life. Some of the girls atoned nobly for their crime ; but 
grinning, devilish imps of hell haunted their lives in diabolical glee 
that the world's superstition had caused so much sorrow and death 
at the hands of a negress and a few silly girls. 



CHAPTER XXXII. 

CRIME AND PUNISHMENT. 

South — Punishment — Pennsylvania — New York — New England — Prison 
Life — William Penn. 

THE criminal class of the South consisted mainly of the poor 
whites and free negroes. Punishment was severe — murder, 
rape, arson, and robbery were made capital crimes; and smaller 
offenses — profanity, etc. — were punishable by fines, lashes, exposure 
in the pillory and stocks, imprisonment, and by the ducking-stool. 
The system in Virginia, which made the poor who were relieved by 
charity wear badges, forced many to commit crime rather than to 
advertise their misfortune. It was this class, the poor whites who 
were once indentured servants, and the free negroes, who figured 
largely in the disturbing crowd at racings, etc. They did the most 
of the gambling, drinking, and fighting, and were a lazy, noisy, rough 
element which yet possessed much generosity and good nature. Goug- 
ing the eyes in fighting became so great an offense, and was so fre- 
quently resorted to, that death was made its penalty in some colonies. 
Not attending church, working on the Sabbath, and keeping taverns 
open on Sunday were all punishable in most of the colonies. 

Passing to the north, Pennsylvania should receive special mention, 
since its institutions were of a peculiar nature. Bond service was 
the popular slavery there, and indentured servants and slaves received 
better treatment than in any other colony. The criminals of Penn- 
sylvania, as in the South, came largely from the servant and slave 
classes. Punishment was placed on a more humane basis, and was 
too liberal for the people it tried to control. The liberality of the 
laws drew immigrants from the criminal class too largely. Smug- 
gling and piracy found a good home among the Quakers. The 
famous Blackbeard traded in Philadelphia, and other noted pirates 
owned property there. The Quakers themselves were tempted by 

317 



318 INSTITUTIONAL HISTORY OF UNITED STATES. 

the goods of the smuggler, and received willingly the profits that 
followed such trade. Finally the Assembly legislated piracy out of 
the colony. 

Vice continually increased under the laxity of law and the growth 
of an immigrant population. In the second generation there was 
much falling away from the simple graces of the first. The second 
William Penn himself left the Quaker church, and joined the Church 
of England. Murder was the only capital crime. Small fines and 
whippings were generally the penalties of others ; but after the fail- 
ure of these laws, those Avere made which were much more rigorous. 
Workhouses and jails were built, and all second offenses of a felonious 
nature, except larceny, were punished by death. House-breaking, 
horse-stealing, counterfeiting, and eleven others, were capital crimes. 
The death penalty was enforced so often that its very frequency made 
it unpopular. 

The young men of Philadelphia, of whom William Penn the 
second was a leader, often "took the town," and such outbreaks 
became, at times, riots. Drinking was the bane of society, dueling 
was practiced even by the clergy, and lotteries were popular. The 
sexual crimes were severely punished. The pillory, whipping-post, 
and stocks were common instruments of punishment. They were 
placed in the nuxrket, and the offender was punished on market-day, 
when the crowd had great fun pelting the victim with eggs, stones, 
and other missiles, from morn till night. Criminals who could not 
pay fines were sold as servants. 

Although St) much may be said of the Quakers' failure in the 
punishment of crime, they did one thing to the everlasting benefit 
of the world, — they instituted the hunume prison system. It was 
readily acknowledged that Pennsylvania had the best system in the 
world at that time, and to the Quakers belongs the credit. Criminals 
were not thrust into dark holes together, male and female, old and 
young, where they lived half-starved, naked, and covered with vermin ; 
but they received that treatment that the present day accords to 
offenders. 

New York drew her criminal class largely from the lowest walks 
of life. Crime, however, was comparatively rare. Kobbery, mur- 
der, and suicide were uncommon. The colony suffered from piracy 
more than from any other crime, and smuggling and illicit trade 
were common. Many capital crimes existed, and the pillory and 
whipping-post were the most common modes of punishment for 



CRIME AND PUNISHMENT. 319 

lesser crimes. Offenders were often required to stand in the mar- 
ket-place with placards on them, bridles in their mouth, and rods 
under their arms. Sometimes burning was the punishment. Great 
crowds always gathered to see the criminals punished. 

New England, of course, executed the law rigidly. The Puritan 
Sabbath was strictly observed. It began at six o'clock Saturday 
evening and closed at sunset on Sunday. There was no traveling, 
and no life on the streets. It is on record that a maid who smiled 
in church was threatened with banishment. Many crimes were 
capital ones, and the pillory, stocks, ducking-stool, whipping-post, 
and even the stake, were means of punishment. 

Probably the crudest imprisonment at this time was that for 
debt. This crime brought more people to jail than all others 
together, and the hardship fell mostly on those who worked by 
the day for their living. The right to imprison debtors was pro- 
hibited in Jackson's administration. 

Prison life was fearful during ovir Colonial Period. A fair ex- 
ample is the famous Newgate prison in Connecticut. It was an 
old abandoned copper-mine, whose only means of entrance was by 
a ladder down a shaft to caverns below. Down underneath the 
earth, in little pens where sunshine never pierced, one would find 
a half-hundred or more of culprits, their feet fast to iron bars, and 
necks chained to beams in the roof. Filth, vermin, and ooze liter- 
ally lay everywhere. It was so damp that the clothing of the 
inmates soon molded and rotted, and the limbs stiffened with 
rheumatism. All over the country were holes such as this, where 
now men v/ould not keep hogs. Cells were frequently not more 
than four feet high, and had little or no light. Some did not even 
have a hole in the wall to let in the light. In Massachusetts cells 
were so small that men were placed in hammocks, one above another. 
Cells in Philadelphia were so crowded that a space only six feet 
long and two feet wide was allowed each prisoner. In these places 
all classes of offenders were put, and both sexes imprisoned indis- 
criminately. These holes became the schools for every vice, and 
the home of every loathsome disease known. The best of men and 
women, whose only crime was the misfortune of debt, were thrust 
into cells where the lowest prostitutes plied their calling openly. 
Witnesses were placed in jail to make sure they would appear at the 
trial, and made to suffer the same indignities. Cropped ears and burn- 
ing flesh, caused by the branding iron, filled the cells with stench. 



320 INSTITUTIONAL HISTORY OF UNITED STATES. 

The pen cannot describe the horrors of prison life in the colonies, 
and they Aveie no more cruel than the rest of the world. The sick 
unprovided for, the naked unclothed, no beds, no cleansing of body 
or cell, bodies covered with sores and lice, — all make a picture for 
the imagination only. 

Prisoners became such brutes under the treatment that the 
moment a new one was added to their number they rushed at him 
like wild men, stripped him, and let him stand naked until the 
" drink money " was furnished, which was done by selling his cloth- 
ing. In the mad revels of these drunken demons sat many a poor 
Avoman whose purity was as her life, and witnessed such scenes 
as are pictured only by Puritanic artists of inmates of hell ; and 
this same woman's only crime was probably the misfortune of debt. 
The picture is a direful one ; but, as said above, the American 
colonies even then had the best prison system in the world. 

Thus the system continued in some states even far down into 
the National Period. To the efforts of William Penn is due the 
reform in prison systems. As has been said, he made a mistake, 
probably, in the liberality of his laws ; but the present only begins 
to realize a little of his ambitious hopes. Though the king, in the 
charter, required Penn to enforce English law in Pennsylvania, he 
boldly discarded the command, and changed many things for the 
first time. Never, since the days of the lowly Nazarene, had any 
one dared to attempt to help the criminal until William Penn did 
in the wilds of an American forest. He abolished forfeitures for 
suicides, the deodands in murders, capital punishment for robbery, 
arson, rape, and forgery, and substituted imprisonment with hard 
labor instead. He sent a code to Parliament so humane that it 
vetoed it. As has been related, these Avere all changed, but by 
1790 the system turned back again to its more humane origin, and 
treason and murder were the only capital crimes. The first state 
prison was built at Philadelphia, and the penitentiary system of the 
United States was begun there. Every few years afterwards differ- 
ent states copied after Pennsylvania, but for many years the horrors 
of prison life, as pictured above, still formed part of the system. 
In no one thing is there so much of interest and value to the student 
of American progress and institutions as in the development of the 
penitentiary system. It is not yet perfect, but it is now like the 
sunshine of heaven to the darkness of hell as compared to olden 
times. 



CHAPTER XXXIII. 

INVENTION. 

Franklin — Fulton — Torpedo-boat — Experiments in making Steamboats 

— Savannah — Present Steamboats — Electric Boats — Cotton-gin — 
Whitney — Difficulties met by Inventors — Howe — Morse — Sub- 
marine Cables — India-rubber — Ericsson — McCormack — Edison — 
Bell — Hotchkiss — Means of Warfare — Large Guns — Printing — 
Hoe — Scott — Typesetting — Illustrating — Electrotyping and 
Stereotyping — Electroplate Bending Machines — Flying Machine 

— Road Vehicles — Niagara Falls — Steel. 

"He snatched the thunderbolt from heaven, 
And the scepter from the hands of tyrants." 

SO it was said of Franklin, tlie first Amercian inventor. All are 
acquainted with the invention of the lightning-rod, but few 
know the wonderful range of the mind of the inventor. The world 
has held few equals and no superior. Great in literature, in states- 
manship, in invention, in science, only once in thousands of years 
does such a man live. 

The invention of the stove was one of the important works in the 
life of Franklin. The post-office system of the United States is his 
plan, and the Philadelphia library is the product of his OAvn thought, 
a thought which has been the means of scattering books and knowl- 
edge over the entire country. The American Philosophical Society, 
the first society organized for studying science, was founded by him. 
Franklin advocated the use of oil to quiet a stormy sea, and advised 
the building of water-tight compartments in ships, an idea received 
from the Chinese. 

In 1793 Kobert Fulton was seeking some means to improve in- 
land navigation. It is supposed that as early as that date he had 
thought that steam might be utilized to propel vessels on water. In 
1794 he received a patent from England on an improved canal-boat, 
Y 321 



322 INSTITUTIONAL HISTORY OF UNITED STATES. 

and the same year tlie ]>ritisli Society for the Promotion of Art gave 
him a medal for an invention for sawing marble. About the same 
time England granted him patents on a machine for spinning flax 
and on one for making ropes. A scoop for the digging out of canals 
was also invented by him. He was a painter and writer of some 
prominence, and advocated the destruction of all war ships, that 
trade might be perfectly free on the seas. 

By the aid of Napoleon, who furnished the money, Fulton suc- 
cessfully planned and sailed a submarine vessel, in 1801, which 
remained under water four hours. He invented a torpedo-boat 
which sailed under a British ship and blew it to atoms, and after- 
wards blew up a Danish brig of two hundred tons. Because Eng- 
land and France were neglectful in appreciating him, he sailed for 
the United States in 1806, where he continued his submarine experi- 
ments and the making of torpedo-boats. Congress appropriated 
ii^oOOO, in 1810, for providing a defense, on which he tried one of his 
boats, but with no success. 

Despairing of getting government aid on his submarine experi- 
ments, Fulton turned his attention to sailing vessels. In 1798 the 
New York legislature gave him full and sole right for twenty years 
on all the streams in that state for his steam vessels, providing he 
would build a steamboat within twelve months that would sail at 
least four miles an hour. This did not result in any good to Fulton. 
He spent the next few years experimenting in England and France, 
and in 1803 built his first experimental boat, which worked very 
satisfactorily to liim. The boat was made to move by means of the 
paddle-wheel. The New York legislature then extended the time 
for him to complete this boat until 1807, when he successfully sailed 
the first steamboat up the Hudson Kiver. In 1814 he built and 
sailed a steam frigate, the first steam war vessel in the world. In 
1815 he was perfecting his submarine boat with fair chances of suc- 
cess, when his death stopped all experiments along that line. 

The torpedo-boat is now our best example of the submarine ves- 
sel. It is the desire of navies that they may have boats in which 
they may steal upon the enemy and destroy him. In 1888 Lieuten- 
ant Feral constructed a cigar-shaped vessel, seventy-two feet long, 
which is moved by electricity and the screw-propeller. The vessel 
is lowered and raised by pumping water into compartments or out 
of them. Compressed-air compartments furnish air as it is wanted. 
A similar boat was constructed in England in the same year. It 



INVENTION. 323 

requires two men to operate the boat, one to manage the machinery 
and one to fire the torpedoes. The experiments with these boats 
have been satisfactory. France perfected a like boat, in 1888, and 
now has severaL Russia, also, is building them for her navy. 
George C. Baker, of Chicago, completed the most perfect submarine 
boat, in 1892, yet built. It worked successfully on Lake Michigan, 
moving at the rate of nine miles per hour. 

Although the invention of the steamboat rightly belongs to 
Eobert Fulton, he was not the first man to experiment in that line. 
As early as 1785, James Rumsey, of Charleston, West Virginia, 
built an eighty-foot boat which was moved by pumps drawing in 
the water at the bows and forcing it out at the stern. It was not 
much of a success. John Fitch, in 1788, made a boat propelled by 
steam, which was moved by a set of oars at the rate of eight miles 
an hour. In 1805 Colonel A. E. Stevens constructed a launch with 
twin screw-propellers, and a few days after Fulton's invention, 
in 1807, Colonel John Stevens completed the steamboat Phoenix, 
which was the first of its kind to make an ocean voyage, sailing 
from New York to Philadelphia. By 1808 three steamboats were 
running between Albany and New York, and by 1815 steamboat 
lines included all the Great Lakes. 

The first ocean steamboat was the Savannah, which was built 
in America. It was both a sailing vessel and steam vessel, being 
fitted so that its paddle-wheels could be taken off in bad weather. 
It crossed from New York to Liverpool in twenty-five days, in 
June, 1819. In 1838 the Sirius and Great Western, built in 
Europe, crossed the ocean in fifteen days. The screw-propeller was 
introduced soon afterwards, since which time the speed of ships has 
constantly increased. In 1868 it required but ten days to cross the 
ocean, and by 1894 the record had been decreased to five and one- 
half days. In the last few months that record has been lowered a 
few minutes. The great ocean steamers, or greyhounds, of to-day 
are truly wonderful for size and magnificence. They are really 
sailing palaces, costing hundreds of thousands of dollars. The 
largest are 622 feet long, 65 feet wide, 59^^- feet deep, and carry 
1500 passengers comfortably. They are almost perfectly safe, as 
they are built with water-tight compartments. 

The Electric Pleasure Boat, which is propelled by the storage 
battery, came into prominence in this country at the World's Fair 
in Chicago, where a New York company had fifty in use. More 



324 INSTITUTIONAL HISTORY OF UNITED STATES. 

than a million persons rode on them during the Fair, since Avhich 
time they have become a strong feature in social life. They are 
comparatively cheap, a twenty-foot size costing only $8G0. The 
first one made was put on exhibition at the Paris Exposition, in 
1881. 

Eight bags of cotton from America were unloaded in Liverpool in 
1784, and no one there would believe that they came from America. 
In 1793, 10,000 bales of cotton were shipped from the United States, 
and in 18C0, 4,000,000 bales were exported. This great increase 
was caused by Eli Whitney's cotton-gin. Hundreds of millions of 
dollars have been added to the wealth of the country by this simple 
invention, whose maker received only neglect and dishonest treat- 
ment from the millions who were benefited. Eli Whitney spent 
the early years of his life making nails and hat-pins. He entered 
Yale College in 1789, where he graduated in 1792 in his twenty- 
seventh year. From college he went South, where it was suggested 
to him that he make a machine for separating the seed from the 
cotton. He succeeded, in 1793, in perfecting the machine, which 
caused such interest throughout the South that people came for 
long distances to see it. Before Whitney could have it patented, 
persons broke into his room and stole it. Many machines were 
modeled after this stolen one and were working before Whitney 
could secure his patent. This resulted in so many lawsuits to 
establish his right, that he never received the amount really due 
him. In fact, he scarcely realized the expenses of the enterprise. 
To make his living, he turned his attenion to making firearms for 
the United States. He died, January 8, 1825, the most wronged 
man that ever lived under the Stars and Stripes. His genius added 
millions of dollars to the wealth of his countr}^, which in turn suf- 
fered him to be robbed of his life's work. With the cotton-gin at 
work within sight and sound of the court room in which his trial 
was going on, he was not able to prove that one had ever been 
used in the state of Georgia. The dinning noise of three machines 
piercing the ears of justice could not arouse her slumbering senses. 
She still claimed that there were no cotton-gins in the state. 

It is well said that inventions must force their way into use. 
Dr. Papin had his first imperfect steamboat destroyed in 1707 by 
his fellow-boatmen, who feared it would harm their trade. The 
inventor of the fly-shuttle, Mr. Kay, was mobbed in Lancashire, 
England. The first model of the spinning-jenny, Hargreaves' in- 



INVENTION. 325 

vention, was destroyed. The spinning-mule had to be hidden that 
it might not meet the same fate. The inventor of the loom was 
almost drowned by a mob. The power loom and stocking loom both 
caused riots. Franklin was laughed at for trying to capture elec- 
tricity from the clouds, and Howe, the inventor of the sewing 
machine, was abused and ridiculed for his work. 

Very early in his life Howe began experimenting on a machine 
that would sew. He first tried a needle whose ends were both 
sharp and whose eye was in the middle. This did not work. 
Then he conceived the idea of a shuttle, two threads, and a curved 
needle with the eye near the point. This solved the problem, and 
in 1844 the first machine was made, but Howe was too poor to put 
it before the world. A friend finally offered to room and board him 
and his family, and advance f 500 for a half-interest in the machine. 
By accepting this offer, most generous under the circumstances, and 
by working almost day and night, Howe completed a machine for 
the market in 1845, that sewed well. The first machine has never 
been improved upon in its essential features. A patent was secured 
in 1845, but tailors would not use the machine, as it was thought 
that it would ruin their trade. Howe was forced into greatest pov- 
erty before his invention was accepted by the world which then 
tried to steal it from him. It was not decided that the patent "was 
rightfully his until 1854. Sewing-machine riots occurred in all the 
cities where the machine was first used. The workmen claimed 
that the machine robbed them of their work. But after 1845 suc- 
cess began to strew its rich gifts at his feet, and in 1863 his income 
was 14000 per day. 

" He may have the sagacity of a Jewish rabbi, or the profundity 
of a Calvin, or the sublimity of a Homer, for aught I know, but 
time will bring forth all things." So said Dr. Belknap, of Boston, 
in 1791, of a babe in its cradle. The babe was named Samuel 
Finley Breese Morse. Mr. Morse became a famous painter of his 
day, and passed his earlier years in England. He came to Boston 
when he was twenty-four years old, where he was very successful 
as a painter; his portraits, of which he could make four per week, 
selling readily for as much as $G0 apiece. Though he was gaining 
wealth and fame as a painter, he began, about 1830, to think of 
another subject, — the transmitting of messages by means of elec- 
tricity. As early as 1649 a Jesuit priest prophesied such an inven- 
tion. In 1774 Le Sage completed an electro-signaling instrument. 



826 INSTITUTIONAL HISTOllY OF UNITED STATES. 

The electromagnet was invented in 1825. All these inventions led 
men to think of a transmitting machine. In 1832 Morse, while on 
the ocean, conceived the possibility of such an instrument, and 
before he reached New York he had developed an alphabet for it; 
by 1837 he exhibited the first machine for transmitting thought from 
a distance. It was looked upon as a harmless toy which no one 
accepted seriously. He placed his model before Congress in 1838, 
but received no encouragement there. He then went to England 
and France, both of which nations refused him a patent. Thus for 
twelve years Morse struggled, spending all his money, and bringing 
his family to the verge of starvation. His brother cared for him 
and his family a part of this time. 

On January 21, 1843, John P. Kennedy, of Maryland, moved 
in Congress that $30,000 should be appropriated for experimenting 
with the telegraph. The motion met with much ridicule. Johnson, 
of Tennessee, moved to amend by appropriating one-half the amount 
to a lecturer on mesmerism then in Washington. Mason, of Ohio, 
protested against such frivolous appropriations, and asked the Chair 
to rule all of these out of order. The Chair ruled that the appro- 
priations were in order, "Because," he said, "it would require a 
scientific analysis to determine how far the magnetism of mesmer- 
ism was like that of telegraphy." This brought out peals of 
laughter. One member offered a resolution to make an appropria- 
tion for making a telegraph line from the earth to the moon. By 
almost an accident the House passed Mr. Kennedy's bill. It then 
Avent to the Senate, where, with 119 other bills, it lay on the table 
for action on the 31st of March, 1843, and Congress was to adjourn 
that night at midnight. Morse sat in the gallery watching the prog- 
ress of the Senate. Growing discouraged, he left the chamber late 
in the day and prepared to leave Washington. The next morning 
at breakfast a young lady friend congratulated him on the passage 
of the bill, thus giving him his first knowledge of it. It had passed 
the Senate five minutes before adjournment. Mr. Morse wrote to a 
friend that with only a fraction of a dollar left as his total wealth, 
he never again would have brought liis invention before the world 
had the bill failed to pass. 

A line was strung from Washington to Baltimore, which was 
completed in May, 1844. Twenty-two miles had been laid on May 1, 
the day of the assembling of the Whig convention in Baltimore. 
It was the purpose to carry the news of the presidential nomination 



INVENTION. 327 

by the convention to Washington over the wire. A train brought 
it to the point reached by the telegraph line, and from there it was 
sent by wire that Henry Clay had been unanimously nominated for 
the presidency. This was the first public message. On May 24 the 
line was completed, and Miss Ellsworth, the lady who brought 
Morse the news of the action of Congress, sent these words over 
the line: "What hath God wrought" (Numbers xxiii. 23). These 
were the first words sent over the completed line, and the first pub- 
lic message over the same was the notice sent to Silas Wright of his 
nomination for the vice-presidency by the Democratic party, assem- 
bled in convention at Baltimore. Mr. Wright declined the honor 
by telegram, but the convention, thinking that the telegraph wire 
or machinery was certainly wrong, adjourned till the next day so 
that a messenger could be sent to learn of the truthfulness of the 
telegram. When Mr. Wright personally announced that the mes- 
sage was correct, men were forced to believe what they had been 
ridiculing, and from that time the electro-telegraph was a success. 

It was Mr, Morse's idea that the government should own the 
telegraph, and he made an offer to Congress to sell it for $100,000; 
but the Postmaster-General reported that it never could pay for 
itself, and would be a poor investment. In a quarter-century from 
that time the telegraph lines of the United States were worth 
$50,000,000. Mr. Morse had many fights in court to establish his 
right to the patent, and was made to suffer the attacks of envy and 
jealousy for many years, before his work was made secure. It was 
the year 1848, after twelve years of hardships, before any govern- 
ment recognized his just claims. Then it was the Sultan of Turke}'' 
that first acknowledged him as one of the world's greatest bene- 
factors. 

In 1842 Mr. Morse laid a submarine cable, which failed to work 
because of some boatmen catching the wire on their anchor, and not 
knowing what it was, cut it. Though he never finished the experi- 
ment, he believed the time would come when the Atlantic Ocean 
would be crossed with a submarine telegraph line. It remained for 
Cyrus W. Field, in 1866, after years of the usual discouragements that 
follow an inventor's life, to fulfill this prophecy. 

At least as early as 1735, a party of French astronomers in Peru 
discovered a very peculiar gum, which became hard in the sun. This 
sap or gum was used by the natives in making drinking and eating 
vessels. While the gum was soft, they dipped clay into it, to which 



328 INSTITUTIONAL HISTORY OF UNITED STATES. 

it would cling, and when it hardened the clay was broken out and 
the guin preserved its form, thus making a cup, bucket, shoe, etc. 
The astronomers on returning to France called the attention of the 
scientific men to this material, since known by the different names 
of cahuchu, caoutchouc, gum-elastic, and now, india-rubber. For 
a long time it was looked iipon as a curiosity fit for nothing save 
rubbing out marks, or serving as ballast for ships. About 1820 it 
was used in France in the manufacturing of suspenders and garters. 
A few years later a Mr. Mackintosh used it for making waterproof 
coats, by spreading a layer of gum between two layers of cloth. 
This was the origin of the much-used mackintosh coats of to-day. 

In 1823 a Boston shoe house imported rubber shoes that were 
made by the natives of South America. They were very unsatis- 
factory, since they froze in winter and melted into a shapeless mass 
in summer. The lloxbury India-rubber Company was organized in 
1833, and began manufacturing rubber coats, shoes, hats, caps, piano 
covers, wagon covers, etc. All went well until the hot sun of the 
next summer, when they melted. This proved so disastrous that 
$2,000,000 was lost by different companies. After the experiments 
of one hundred years, all that had been gained for india-rubber was 
the dislike of the world. But just at this time help was nearer than 
it was thought to be. Charles Goodyear, through curiosity, bought 
an india-rubber life-preserver in 1834. This little incident brought 
to the world great comfort and wealth, but to Mr. Goodyear it meant 
only twenty-five years of poverty, misery, and disappointments. 

Goodyear invented an improved valve for his life-preserver and 
took it to the Eoxbury India-rubber Company to sell it; but the 
president of the company explained the threatened disaster to all 
such work, and advised Goodyear to invent some way to preserve 
india-rubber in all kinds of Aveather. He returned home thoroughly 
imbued with the idea that he must accomplish that very end. He 
was then thirty -five years old, in poor liealth, bankrupt, and with a 
family depending upon him. On returning to Philadelphia, his 
home, he was thrown into prison for debt, but he began his work 
immediately. His first experiment was an absolute failure, as was 
his second, which was the mixing of magnesia with india-rubber. 
These failures brought him to absolute need, and he pawned his own 
valuables and those of his wife to secure enough money to experi- 
ment the third time. He then mixed the gum with magnesia, quick- 
lime, and water, and thus secured the proper hardness as far as heat 



INVENTION. 329 

was concerned. But to his dismay he soon discovered that the 
weakest acid would destroy the cloth — that even the juice of an 
apple was harmful. 

Again his failure but stimulated him to further efforts, though 
his next discovery was the result of an accident. He was one day 
bronzing a piece of rubber cloth and put too much bronze on the 
piece, which he sought to remove by applying aqxia fortis. This 
removed the bronze, but also, he thought, ate up the cloth, which he 
threw aside. Happening to pick up the piece a few days later, he 
discovered that the rubber had hardened so that much more heat 
was necessary to melt it than before. At last, he thought, he was 
on the road to success. He obtained a patent readily and began his 
work, but the panic of 1837 came just then, and reduced him and 
many of his friends to absolute poverty. He resorted to the pawn- 
shop again and managed to live through the year, but no one of 
means would experiment with his patent. It was said that no man 
in the world believed in india-rubber except Mr. Goodyear. When 
a stranger inquired for him and asked for a description that he might 
recognize him, a friend answered : " If yoii see a man with an india- 
rubber coat, india-rubber shoes, and india-rubber cap, and in his 
pocket an india-rubber purse with not a cent in it, that is Goodyear." 

In 1837 Goodyear succeeded in putting on the market various 
kinds of rubber goods, manufactured under his patent, and sold 
nearly $5000 worth of territory to agents. He secured a contract 
from the government to make one hundred and fifty india-rubber 
mail-bags. These bags had not been used a month until they softened 
and began to ferment. Again the inventor's hopes were destroyed 
and his money gone. Now his wife and friends demanded that he 
give up the work and turn his attention to something that would 
support his family. But he felt that he had a mission and kept 
on with his work. His next experiment was with sulphur, which 
hardened the gum ; but heat made it smell so badly that no one 
could use the rubber. This added another to his many failures. 

Chance was to do for Mr. Goodyear what several years of hard 
woi'k had failed to do, — discover the proper compound to harden 
gum. In the spring of 1839, while standing before a stove in a store 
in Woburn, Massachusetts, explaining the properties of india-rubber, 
he accidentally dropped a piece on the red-hot stove. To his sur- 
prise, it did not change. He repeated the act and discovered that 
india-rubber, mixed with sulphur and exposed to a certain degree of 



330 INSTITUTIONAL HISTORY OP UNITED STATES. 

heat for a certain time, would not soften or melt afterwards at any 
degree of heat, and would not stiffen at any degree of cold. In his 
darkest hour he had discovered the secret he had so long sought. 

It would tire the reader to relate the experience of this magnifi- 
cent man before he fully succeeded. Starvation, bad health, loss of 
friends, all added to his misery. He was put into prison for debt, 
but even there kept trying to interest caj)ital in his enterprise. By 
1844 he had succeeded in producing perfect india-rubber, but the 
remainder of his life was spent in protecting his patents against 
thieves. In 1858 the Commissioner of Patents said : " No inventor, 
probably, has ever been so harassed, so trampled upon, so i)huidered 
by that sordid and licentious class of infringers known in the par- 
lance of the world as pirates. The spoliation of their incessant 
guerrilla warfare upon his defenseless rights has unquestionably 
amounted to millions." 

Goodyear died in 1860, a worn-out, disappointed man. Since 
that time efforts have been made to extend his patents for the bene- 
fit of his family, but the influence of men grown wealthy on the 
patents they stole has prevented Congress from dealing out justice 
to them. Goodyear died insolvent, though his inventions and dis- 
coveries had already made many men very wealthy. 

John Ericsson was a Swede, but so much of his great work Avas 
done in America that he justly ranks as an American inventor. His 
competition with Stephenson in 1829 in the locomotive contest 
brought him into public notice. Though defeated in the contest, he 
worked many years afterwards to form steam and run an engine by 
the direct rays of the sun. He accomplished notliing important, 
though he did i)roduce the steam. Sometime after this he com- 
pleted a fire engine which was very useful. Ceasing liis experi- 
ments with engines, he turned his attention to propelling boats by 
a screw. He accomplished the work, but England would give him 
no credit for it. He then came to America, in 1837, and immedi- 
ately won the favor of Captain Stockton, who helped him fit out a 
ship called the Princeton, which was a revolution in war ships. It 
was the bursting of the great gun on this ship that killed the Sec- 
retary of State, Secretary of Navy, etc. In applying steam power 
to war ships, Ericsson placed the navy of the United States first in 
the world; but his bill of $15,000 before Congress, for the ship and 
his work, has not been allowed to this day. 

Ericsson's claim to the screw-propeller is disputed, but the won- 



INVENTION. 331 

derful ship, the Monitor, that revolutionized warfare on the sea, is 
without doubt his invention. He began working on the Monitor in 
1854, and every American knows the result. After seeing his inven- 
tion permanently adopted in warfare, he spent the rest of his life in 
inventing a torpedo-boat that would destroy any war ship. He fin- 
ished the boat, which he named Destroyer, and though it was swift 
and destructive, the United States would neither purchase the ves- 
sel nor encourage the building of others. Ericsson's remains lie in 
Sweden, where they were interred with great honors. 

It is said that the reaper saves the world about $100,000,000 
yearly in labor. Cyrus McCormack, its inventor, possessed an 
inventive mind. He invented a threshing machine and hemp- 
breaker in the early part of this century, and patented a " right- 
hand " or " left-hand " ploAV in 1831. Ten years later he made a 
self-sharpening plow. In 1816 his father made a reaper which 
worked very well. A Mr. Ogle made one in 1822, which did not 
work, and a Mr. Bell made one in 1828, that was but little better. 
Cyrus then took up the work on the reaper, much against his father's 
wishes. As he had suffered so much and made so little in the work, 
he considered that his family had done enough in the inventive field. 

It was the purpose of the son to make a machine that would cut 
grain standing or falling. The old machine of 1816 would cut grain 
standing, but would not cut it when lying down. To this work Cyrus 
set his whole mind and succeeded, in 1831, in completing such a 
machine. It had the vibrating cutting-blade, a reel that brought 
the grain to the blade, and a platform that received the falling 
grain. It was tested in a six-acre field of oats and worked well. 
It was not perfect enough to put on the market, however, for 
two reasons : (1) all the cog-wheels were of wood ; (2) there was no 
place on the machine for the driver or raker. The driver had to 
ride one of the horses and the raker had to walk. In 1834 McCor- 
mack completed his machine and secured a patent ; but he would sell 
none until 1840, that he might find out every defect before it was 
put upon the market. He lost all his property in the panic of 1837, 
so he was forced to begin life again at the bottom ; but it proved a 
blessing, since he then worked on his machine with energy and 
made it succeed. He first went to Cincinnati and from there to 
Chicago to manufacture the reaper, since the West would furnish 
him the best market. The McCormack Eeaper Works now cover 
over forty acres of ground, employ 2000 men, and turn out about 



332 INSTITUTIONAL HISTORY OF UNITED STATES. 

150,000 machines yearly. In Egypt, Eiissia, India, and Australia 
thousands are used, and Cyrus McCormack, the inventor, has lived 
to enjoy the wealth and fame he has so well earned, though many 
have tried to steal his patents and defraud him of his rights. 

Edison and magic are almost synonymous terms. Electrioit}^ in 
the hands of Edison has done and is doing wonders. With much of 
his work he has but carried out the dreams of some one else, but in 
that he has shown a superior genius. The electric light was the 
theory of others, but the work of Edison. His Avork on the tele- 
graph, telephone, railway, dynamo, electric and ore-extracting ma- 
chine has been much of the same nature. He started life as a 
newsboy and was successful ; he then became a telegraph operator 
in Indianapolis. He worked out his first invention while there. 
An operator at the Cincinnati end of the line was too fast for him, 
and he devised a machine for taking messages. He took two old 
Morse registers and arranged them so that a strip of paper running 
through them recorded the dots and dashes of the sender as fast as 
they were sent, and then transmitted them to the receiver as fast as 
he desired to take them. The sender at Cincinnati sent his words 
at the rate of forty a minute, and Edison's machine received them, 
and then gave them to him at about twenty-five per minute. This 
helped him to hold his position against one of the fastest operators 
in the country, and allowed him to send in clean and perfect reports. 
All went well until Edison had a big night's work, when he fell two 
hours behind in taking the message from his dotted paper. The 
newspapers complained, since it was a presidential convention he 
was reporting, and this led to the discovery of his machine, which 
he was not allowed to use longer. 

It was this machine that caused Edison to think of the possi- 
bility of a machine that would record and return speech. He Avas 
experimenting with the telephone at the same time, and the thought 
struck him that the vibrations of sound would make impressions that 
could be transmitted. He arranged a machine into which he spoke 
and which then returned his speech to him. 

In 18GS he invented a machine that would record votes more 
rapidly than the viva voce plan. The machine was first placed at 
the disposal of Congress, Edison thinking that that body would 
gladly accept anything that would save time. He, however, quickly 
realized his mistake ; for he fouiul that the saving of time was just 
the thing which that body did not want to do. 



INVENTION. 333 

The kinetoscope is the latest wonder of Edison's, It records 
the motions of animals and then reproduces them. That, combined 
with the phonograph, makes it possible to see objects and hear 
sounds many miles away. This combination is called the kineto- 
Yjhonograph. Mr. Edison is still working vigorously in his labora- 
tory, and should he live a few years longer the world will certainly 
receive more wonderful things than ever before from him. It must 
be true that the usefulness of electricity is only just beginning, and 
that the next century will open up wonders scarcely dreamed of now. 

In 1840 an English electrician discovered that the tick of a clock 
could be heard for miles over a wire. He had learned before this 
that electrical wires carried sou.nds in a peculiar manner. This was 
the very beginning of the telephone. In 1844 another Englishman 
invented the telephone, but not an electrical one. It was an arrange- 
ment for conveying sounds at sea by forcing air through trumpets. 
Sounds were conveyed for six miles by this apparatus. A German, 
in 1860, made the first real telephone. His plan was developed by 
Edison and Bell, the latter of whom is the recognized inventor of 
the long-distance telephone. 

Mr. Bell first became known as a teacher of the deaf and dumb. 
In 1873 he began studying the transmission of musical tones by tele- 
graph. It was his hope to make sound vibrations visible. He caused 
tracings of such vibrations to appear on smoked glass and blackened 
paper, and then experimented with a piece of material shaped 
like the human ear. In 1876 he transmitted the song of a class 
from the cellar of a house to the fourth floor. In 1877 he completed 
a practical telephone. Mr. Bell, like other inventors, has had to 
fight for his rights, but he is now making $1,000,000 yearly out of 
his invention, which money he is using on other experiments, espe- 
cially those that will help the deaf and dumb. 

B. B. Hotchkiss placed one of his guns in the Brooklyn Navy 
Yard, in 1869, but he failed to interest the United States govern- 
ment in it. At the breaking out of the Franco-German War, he 
went to Europe with a breech-loading gun that threw shells. There 
he was successful. The Hotchkiss gun can be fired 75 times 
a minute, and can hit a target six inches in diameter, 1000 yards 
away. 

In this connection more should be said of the modes of warfare, 
both of offense and defense. The United States troops of to-day 
use the Krag-Jorgensen magazine rifle, which carries four cartridges 



334 INSTITUTIONAL HISTORY OF UNITED STATES. 

<at one loading, and fires 20 times a minute. Tliis gun will kill 
at the distance of two miles. The bullets travel nearly in a straight 
line for that distance also, so that no allowance need be made for 
the curve. The United States Navy uses the Lee rifle. It will 
fire 40 times a minute, hold five cartridges, and will kill at a 
distance of a mile and a half. Machine guns are now made that 
will shoot 1200 times a minute. The Maxim fires from 240 to 
400 times per minute, and spreads the balls so effectively that 
nothing can live before it. The larger guns have been improved 
as much as the small ones. The Armstrong gun, designed in 1894, 
is one of the best of these. 

The struggle going on now between armor and guns for supremacy 
is developing both rapidly. All nations now of mucli standing are 
improving their navies and means of defense. Dynamite guns are 
being added, torpedo-boats built, great guns constructed, and battle 
ships designed, both for swiftness and security, at a rate that would 
seem to show that man is preparing to exterminate his race. Let us 
hope, however, that the increased dangers of warfare shall lessen 
tlie probabilities of war, and that destructive engines shall destroy 
only the enemies of peace and good will. 

The last quarter of a century has shown more improvement in 
printing than in any other line of invention. It is not necessary to 
speak at length of the old press run by hand. Movable type were 
first used about 1(550, but for nearly two liundred years afterwards 
there was little progress made in printing. Near the beginning of 
this century the cylinder press was invented by Napier, and soon 
afterwards steam was applied to these presses. Since 1830 improve- 
ments have been rapid and helpful, until to-day there are machines 
that will print and fold fifty miles of paper per hour, and other 
machines that will set 100,000 ems in a day. These inventions 
have made literature so much cheaper tluit now no one has a 
good excuse for not owning and studying the best thought of 
all times. 

Richard Hoe was the first inventor of printing presses of any 
importance, and the Hoe cylinder printing press is the leading press 
of to-day. It Avas in 1846 that he made his principal invention. 
The Civil War made a demand for larger and a greater number of 
newspapers, so faster machines were needed. This set Mr. Hoe 
and Mr, Taylor to devising new plans, and they met the demand by 
making the doidjle-cylinder macliino, in which the type were made 



INVENTIOlf. 335 

to pass under two cylinders in one passage, thus doubling the num- 
ber of papers that could be printed in a certain time. Hoe, soon 
afterwards, completed the ten-cylinder press, which increased the 
capacity correspondingly to the number of cylinders. These machines 
saved time, but they did not save cost of printing, which was very 
desirable. The cost was lessened by discovering a process for curv- 
ing the stereotyped plate, so that it would fit the cylinder, thus 
saving the expense of setting so much type. The Hoes have so 
developed these machines that the largest can print, cut, and fold 
96,000 papers per hour. Walter Scott has completed the fastest 
single-cylinder printing machine up to this time. It will print, 
cut, and fold 3000 papers per hour. He has a magazine press that 
will deliver pamphlets complete at the rate of 15,000 an hour. 

For a quarter of a century men have considered the tediovis and 
slow manner of hand typesetting, and have endeavored to invent a 
machine that would do the work. There are now two kinds of 
typesetting machines, — one, of which the Thorne and Empire are 
best examples, sets the type as it is done by hand ; the other, the 
Mergenthaler, assembles matrices and casts a solid bar. 

The Thorne is manipalated by a keyboard like that of a type- 
writer, and holds the type in an upright cylinder, which contains 
channels, through which the type pass by gravity to their places in 
the line. The Empire works on a similar principle, except that 
the channels run from cases, which hold the type at the top of the 
machine. The Mergenthaler linotype is now used in most of the 
large newspaper offices. With a keyboard, matrices are assembled 
into line, the line is moved into conjunction with a mold, and a 
metal bar is cast, bearing on its face the "line o' type." By its 
use one person can do the work of four or five hand compositors. 

The term "photomechanical" means the process of producing 
illustrations for books and papers. There were several new names 
recently invented by the Photographic Congress of the world for the 
different processes in illustrating. They are as follows: photo- 
chromography, the art of reproducing photographic images in several 
colors ; photocollography, the art of making plates for printing by 
the gelatin process ; photoglyphtography, producing photo-engraved 
plates with indented surfaces; photoplastography, the process of 
changing a plastic substance so that it may be printed directly on 
paper; photoprint, any print obtained by the photomechanical pro- 
cess; phototypography, any process of engraving that produces a 



336 INSTITUTIONAL HISTORY OF UNITED STATES. 

relief plate, from whicli one can print. By these many processes 
the great dailies, magazines, and the books of the period are quickly 
and inexpensively illustrated. 

Stereotyping and electrotyping mean those processes by which 
duplicates are made of the type plates, thus saving the setting up of 
more than one plate of the same matter and also saving the wear 
of the type. Stereotyping is the rougher process, and is used on 
the dailies, where time is a factor. Electrotyping, being a finer 
process, is used on books, magazines, etc., where the best Avork is 
done. 

Very recently Walter Scott & Co. have invented the electroplate 
bending machine, which bends tlie stereotype plate to fit the cylinder 
press. In our large newspaper offices, where several presses are 
used of several cylinders each, a type plate is set up, duplicates are 
made of it, and thus several pages of the same type are printed at 
one time. 

It may seem out of place to give space in this chapter to the 
flying machine, but a study of inventions prepares one to believe 
that anything may come from man's ingenuity. Up to 1894 no one 
had ever made a machine fly without a gas bag. At that time Mr. 
Maxim, inventor of the Maxim gun, completed the aeroplane that 
flew 500 feet. Mr. Langley, of the Smithsonian Institute, and 
Mr. Maxim have demonstrated that at a speed of thirty-five miles 
an hour the lifting power of the air is sufficient to sustain an 
apparatus which would carry a motor, fuel, and operator. There 
seems to be some doubt as to whether the flying machine will ever 
be practical, but still it would not be more wonderful than many 
things which have been done. 

Man's best friend is certainly doomed. The steam car, the 
electric car, the bicycle, and the horseless carriage have relieved 
the horse of much of his work. J>ut let all burdens be lifted from 
that noble animal, that he may become a companion for man in his 
lighter and more pleasant walks of life. In 1889 a road vehicle 
was propelled by steam in France. The storage battery has again 
shown its usefulness in that it has taken the horseless carriage 
beyond the experimental stage and made it an important fact. The 
objection to this vehicle is made on its cost and weight; but it will 
not be long before it will be light and strong, and also of a price 
within the reach of the people. TJie horseless or automatic carriage 
and the bicycle are the road vehicles of the future, and will be of 



INVENTION. 337 

general use when tlie " good roads " movement is made of the great 
influence it deserves. 

The capturing of the Niagara and the making it do man's bid- 
ding are great achievements. As early as 1847 the possibility of 
doing such a thing was commented upon, but it was not until 1886 
that the matter assumed practical form. In that year the New 
York legislature chartered the Niagara Falls Power Company, whose 
purpose it was to chain the Niagara and make it subservient to man. 
In 1889 the Cataract Construction Company contracted with the 
former company to equip a plant of 100,000 horse-power. The plan 
is as follows : A canal leads the water from above the Falls to a 
power-house, where it drops 136 feet through large pipes into 
turbines or water-wheels which move dynamos that in turn bring 
the power to the surface through shafts, where it is passed to 
wires and distributed to any machinery desired. Thus the power 
generated at Niagara can drive street-cars, mills, etc., in hundreds 
of towns within 100 miles of the Falls. There is enough power 
going to waste at the Falls, to produce 4,000,000 horse-power. It 
is expected that some day the great city of New York will receive 
all the power it uses in its every-day life from the Niagara Falls. 

At the foundation of invention is the manufacturing of steel, 
which is now so cheap that it can even compete with iron. The 
man to whom we owe so much for this great advantage is Sir Henry 
Bessemer. The United States, however, has made greater strides in 
the work than any other country. That the reader may have some 
idea of this work, I will take a statement from a book on steel manu- 
facturing. The Johnson Company left Johnstown, Pennsylvania, 
in 1894, and went to Loraine, Ohio. They purchased 4000 acres 
of land as a preparatory step for securing four miles of water- 
front on Lake Erie. They then built an electric railway ten miles 
long, on which they run trains from thirty to forty miles an hour. 
The buildings used by the company are a power-house, bottom 
house, cupola building, converter house, stripper house, furnace 
building, boiler house, roll shop, roll-grinding building, shape mill, 
hot-beds building, straightening buildings, cold-finishing buildings, 
and splice-bar shop. Many of these buildings are from 300 to 500 
feet long. Six thousand two hundred feet of trenches were dug 
for sewers and water supply, and more than two miles of railway 
track were laid to connect the buildings. The boilers give 9000 
horse-power, and a dam, holding 60,000,000 gallons of water, is 
z 



338 INSTITUTIONAL HISTORY OF UNITED STATI<:S. 

connected with the plant. Here, at a daily expense of tliousands 
of dollars, steel is furnished to the world as cheap as iron. 

I have now gone into the outer court only of the inventive life 
of our country ; but the reader, it is hoped, may see from this glimpse 
the magnitude and the glory of man. The line that marks the finite 
from the infinite moves farther into the distance each jenv. May 
not man slowly conquer even the infinite sometime in the great 
future? 



CHAPTER XXXIV. 

TRANSPORTATION. 

Colonial Travel — Revolution — Steam Vessels — Highwats — South — 
Improvements — Disadvantages — Cumberland Road — 1840 — Erie 
Canal — Canals — Electricity — Railroads — Origin — First Locomo- 
tives — Railways in United States — Grants — Civil War — Consoli- 
dation — Laws — Earnings — Railroads of the Future — Speed — 
Electricity — Street Railways — New Schemes — Bridges — Tunnels. 

ONE liuudred years ago a journey of a hundred miles Avas like a 
journey now from ocean to ocean, except it was more unpleasant. 
The time consumed was about the same. For a hundred years after 
the settlement of the colonies there were not even stage-coaches. 
Journeys were performed on foot or horseback, and through pathless 
woods that were mainly swamps. The first coach-and-four in New 
England was in 174-4. The first stage between New York and Phila- 
delphia was in 1756, and it made the journey between those points 
in three days. In 1765 a second stage was started over the same 
route, and was advertised as a luxurious conveyance, being a " Cov- 
ered Jersey -wagon," making the trip in three days, and charging two- 
pence per mile. The next year a third started, called the ''Flying 
Machine." It was a wagon with seats on springs, and decreased 
the journey to two days ; but the charge was increased to twenty 
shillings for the trip, and threepence per mile for way passengers. 

The Revolution largely destroyed the stage-coach; traveling 
went back to the horseback mode ; and a journey became as dis- 
agreeable as ever. Journeys were dangerous, and when a man set 
out for a lengthy trip his friends gathered at the inn to bid him a 
solemn good-bye, as they might never see him again. At the return 
of peace the stage resumed operation, but it was many years before 
very much traveling Avas done. In 1793 there were but two stages 
and twenty stage-horses between Boston and New York. The con- 
veyances were old, the harness was made mostly of rope, and the 

339 



340 INSTITUTIONAL HISTORY OF UNITED STATES. 

horses were like skeletons. Forty miles a day was the rate of travel 
ill summer ; and about twenty -five miles, the rate in winter. At every 
eighteen miles there was a change of horses, and a day's ride was 
about eighteen hours. There were not many bridges ; and the broad 
rough rivers, the only means of crossing which being a dangerous 
ferry-boat, became objects of terror to travelers. It was a nine days' 
journey from Boston to Philadelphia, and a day and a half from 
Washington to Baltimore. Along the coast and on rivers, packet- 
boats were common conveyances in the summer season. They did 
not run in winter. One could never tell when they would start or 
stop, and they Avent very slowly. Sometimes they Avould be two 
weeks in sailing 150 miles. 

Such was travel during almost twenty-five years of the present 
century. Steam was not wholly unknown. In fact, as early as 1787 
vessels had been moved by steam. A steamboat company was organ- 
ized at Philadelphia in 1790, and a little craft was made to steam up 
and down the Delaware. Before 1800 a steamer plied up and down 
the Connecticut, and a boat driven by paddles was launched in Ehode 
Island about the same time. Soon afterwards a ^Vatt engine moved 
a boat on the Hudson, and in 1807 Fulton made his famous trip to 
Albany in the Clermont, which was used as a passenger boat for 
about a year afterwards. Before 1820 a steamboat had passed down 
the river to New Orleans, one had been placed on the Lakes, and 
the Savannah had crossed the ocean. But these vessels met with 
opposition. Men still traveled by stage. One seldom made an 
ocean voyage. Seven weeks was about the time required for a trip 
across the ocean, but sometimes three months were necessary. To 
have been in Europe was a distinguishing incident ; it made one the 
hero of his town. A steamer noAV carries more people in one trip 
than came and went across then in a year. 

On the highways ruts were deep, and descents precipitous ; the 
passengers were often compelled to alight to help lift the coach from 
a mudhole. This was true even in the cities. Great quagmires and 
quicksand beds, where horses were sometimes lost, existed near 
Philadelphia and New York. 

In the South conditions were not even as good. In Georgia 
tobacco was rolled to market in hogsheads which were provided 
with axles. As one went farther north, advantages increased ; but 
what has been said of New England, New York, and Pennsylvania 
is true of all the other colonies. 



TRANSPORTATION. 341 

The condition of travel soon called for improvements in roads, 
conveyances, etc. Soon after the National Period began, schemes 
were talked of for building bridges, digging canals, and making 
turnpikes. The canal was the favorite scheme then, and every state 
proposed one or more for itself. A company was organized in Penn- 
sylvania in 1791, to cut three canals in that state. Stock sold rap- 
idly, and in a few hours all the shares were taken up. Turnpike 
companies were numerous at the same time. Improvement was 
slow, but by 1810 the rage to improve roads and means of trans- 
portation was intense. New England chartered 180 turnpike com- 
panies ; New York, 137. These represented more than $7,000,000 
capital, and 4500 miles of pike, of which 1500 miles were completed. 
There were eight pikes out from Albany, and other towns had im- 
proved as much. 

But the great question of cheap transportation was not solved by 
these. It cost so much to bring produce from the inland towns to the 
coast that the transportation was entirely prohibited. The average 
cost of freight was about f 10 per ton per hundred miles. All articles 
not worth that were of course not shipped, and wheat and flour were 
of that number. Roads were so bad, and tolls on improved roads 
were so heavy, about 12^ cents per mile, that the inland producer 
seldom reached the market with the result of his labor. So for some 
distance along the western boundary the people traded with England 
and Spain ; and it seemed that industrial conditions would destroy 
the Union. The people had united partly for commercial reasons. 
Now commercial reasons tended to disunite them. Local interest 
Avas taking the place of nationalism. There was a tendency to de- 
stroy all that had been done, and this must be counteracted, or the 
future would prove the latest experiment in free government to be 
a failure. The way to remedy the evil was to plan interstate com- 
mercial advantages. 

The Cumberland Road was begun in 1806. It was to reach from 
Cumberland, Maryland, to Wheeling, Virginia, and was afterwards 
intended to extend to St. Louis, This was to meet the demands of 
people going west to Ohio, which was just then opening for settle- 
ment. In 1806 a law was passed providing for the making of the 
road. Thirty thousand dollars were appropriated to begin the work. 
INIoney again was appropriated in 1810 and 1811. The agitation for 
national improvements was only a demand for commercial indepen- 
dence. Several canals were, begun at the same time, and more were 



342 INSTITUTIONAL HISTORY OF UNITED STATES. 

proposed. If the interior were to be of any value whatever, it must 
have an outlet. It was slow work to get the improvements, but they 
came surely. It cost !^1 per bushel to send wheat to New York 
from Ohio ; consequently it was worth 50 cents only on the Lakes. 
In spite of the knowledge of this fact, constitutional quibbles kept 
Congress from appropriating money to help the people. 

By 1840 there was a wonderful change in internal conditions. 
It was as if a magical wand had waved over the country. Steam- 
boats were on every considerable stream and body of water; turn- 
pikes were numerous; and the first railroad had been successfully 
operated. Bridges spanned streams, and stage-coaches were safer and 
more pleasant. But not so much could be said of the advantages of 
freight. It still lumbered over the roads in old wagons, or moved 
slowly on streams in the packet-sloop. Stage-coaches and steam- 
boats carried only passengers and small baggage. 

This difficulty was solved at last by the construction of the Erie 
Canal. The law to construct this waterway passed the New York 
legislature in 1816. It was expected that the government would 
help with the enterprise, but a bill for that purpose was vetoed, and 
New York fell back upon its own resources. Lands and farms were 
taxed for twenty -five miles back along the proposed work ; and the 
commissioners were empowered by the state to borrow money on the 
credit of the state, not to exceed $400,000 annually. A duty of 
12i cents per bushel was laid on salt, and a tax of $1 was laid on 
persons who traveled one hundred miles by steamboat on the Hud- 
son River, and one of 50 cents on those who traveled but thirty 
miles in the same way.. These proceeds, Avith those from all the 
lotteries in the state, from the canals when built, and from the sale 
of western land, were all turned into the Erie Canal fund. On July 
4, 1817, the greatest piece of engineering work ever attempted in 
this country up to that time was started. The energj' of New York 
encouraged other states. New Jersey began Avork, and Pennsylvania 
appropriated nearly f 1,000,000 for bridges and roads. The Erie 
Canal completed, as it was in 1825, was the great beginning of a 
system of roads and canals, that now extend from one end of the 
country to the other. It was 3(53 miles long, connecting Lake Erie 
and the Hudson River, and it cost $51,600,000. About 5000 miles 
of canals have been built in the United States, one-half of Avhicli 
are not now in use. 

It will no doubt be of interest to know something of canals in 



TRANSPORTATION. 343 

general. The earliest record we have of a canal is one across the 
Isthmus of Suez sixteen hundred years before Christ. The Imperial 
canal of China was built hundreds of years ago. The Dutch cut 
canals about the twelfth century, and in 1560 they completed a 
canal from Brussels to the Scheldt. France dug a canal in 1681 that 
was 140 miles long and cost $7,200,000. England's first canal was 
made in 1572. 

The science of engineering in canal-building began about 1775 
and was most active until about 1830, when railroads made them 
less useful. When the locomotive was invented, there were about 
6000 miles of canals in the world. More than one-half of these 
have been abandoned on account of the better facilities for freight 
travel by railroads. 

The most famous canal in the world to-day is the Suez Canal, 
engineered and managed in its construction by De Lesseps of France. 
It was begun in 1859, and finished in 1809, at a cost of $83,000,000. 
It is 95 miles long, and was at first 26 feet deep, but since its com- 
pletion it has been deepened at a cost of $40,000,000. Its annual 
carrying trade is now about 10,000,000 tons, and the stock is worth 
five times its par value. 

The Panama Canal, which was also to have been constructed by 
De Lesseps, was to have been 47 miles long. It was begun in 1881, 
and after spending $250,000,000 in completing one-third of it, it was 
abandoned amid much scandal. The canal across the Isthmus of 
Corinth was completed in 1893. It is only four miles long, but 
has a heavy tonnage, as it saves an ocean trip of 200 miles. 
The king of Greece, in 1882, began the canal with a silver spade, 
and the queen touched off a train of dynamite. It was completed 
at a cost of $12,000,000. There were as many as 3000 men 
working on it at one time. The largest cut in it is 228 feet deep. 
It has no locks. Nero of Rome began a canal at the same place 
eighteen centuries ago, but gave it up because his scientific men told 
him that the sea was higher on one side of the Isthmus than on the 
other. 

The St. Mary's canal, which connects Lake Superior and Lake 
Huron, has the largest lock in the world, being 800 feet long, 100 
feet wide, and having a lift of 18 feet. The canal is only one mile 
long, and was built in 1855. It has a carrying trade of 20,000,000 
tons annually. 

Chicago is now (1897) digging a canal from the Chicago River to 



344 INSTITUTIONAL HISTOIIY OF UNITED STATES. 

a tributavy of the Mississippi, to serve as a sewer for carrying the 
refuse of the city so that it will not be emptied into the lake. It 
is intended to finally extend the canal to the Mississippi River at a 
depth of 14 feet. The cost will be about $60,000,000. 

A new use has been found for canals. Originally they were 
used for inland traffic. After the time of railroads they were used 
for connecting great bodies of water to save distance in ocean or 
large- water travel. Now they are used to connect inland cities with 
the sea. The Manchester Ship Canal was the first of these. It was 
completed in 1894, is 35 miles long, and cost $75,000,000. The city 
of IVIanchester is 65 feet higher than the sea, so that five locks are 
necessary to carry the ships up to it. The canal is 120 feet wide at 
the bottom. It required skillful engineering to complete it, as it 
crosses a single river six times and another canal once. This is 
done by swinging water bridges. No doubt the future will see 
juany ocean steamers bringing their cargoes up to cities now far in 
the interior of the country. 

The Baltic and North Sea Canal, completed in 1895 at a cost of 
$40,000,000. will save much dangerous travel, and will give Prussia 
an excellent naval outlet. It is 61 miles long, 29^ feet deep, and 
will carry the largest German war vessel, for which purpose it is 
designed. 

The reader Avill notice that canal-building is not on the decline, 
since most of our great canals are of recent build. There are also 
many great ones in project in Europe and America. One connecting 
the North Sea and the Mediterranean is being thought of ; and one 
connecting the Mediterranean and the Dead seas, obliterating the 
Christian's sacred land by making the territory of the Dead Sea a 
great lake, which would be connected on the south to the Gulf of 
Akabah by another canal, thus shortening the route to India, is 
also thought of. One connecting the Chesapeake and Delaware 
bays, one around the Niagara Falls on the American side, the 
Florida canal. Lake Erie and Ohio River canal, and many others on 
this continent are being considered. 

One of the strong probabilities of the near future is the trolley 
canal-boat. Very satisfactory results have already been obtained. 
It is thought that electricity will drive a boat twenty miles per 
hour. Let this be done, and canals would come into strong compe- 
tition with railroads again, since they would furnish much cheaper 
travel. 



TEANSPOETATION. 345 

The steam car is ever a wonder. It never has lost interest for 
man. Flying across the country at one mile a minute, with no visi- 
ble force about it, all so subservient to the will of man, yet drawing 
tons upon tons of freight and passengers, it is certainly the mightiest 
force under control. 

But what of the origin of the modern wonder ? The Komans 
constructed smooth roadways by making two tracks of cut stones. 

In many Italian cities to-day Ave find remains of such roads. 
Miners in the Hartz Mountains laid wooden rails for their trucks as 
early as 1700. The rail track was introduced into English mines a 
little later, and not long afterwards the miners laid iron strips on 
the rails to make them last longer. In 1768 cast-iron rails were 
used instead of the wooden ones. By 1800 wheels were constructed 
with flanges to prevent them from slipping off the rails. Wrought- 
iron rails were patented in 1820. 

The constructing of locomotives was being considered by many 
people one hundred and fifty years ago. The great difficulty, as peo- 
ple saw it then, was that the wheels would slip on the rails without 
moving the engine. It Avas not until 1813 that it Avas discovered 
that friction alone Avould move the locomotive, and Avould even 
pull a heavy load. 

George Stephenson began his experiments in 1814, and in fifteen 
years had so completed a locomotive that from that time travel was 
completely revolutionized. His first invention Avas used on the 
Liverpool and Manchester Raihvay in a competitive exhibition in 
1829. There Avere four competing engines, one of which was made 
by Ericsson; but Stephenson's "Rocket" obtained the prize. Erics- 
son's locomotive, hoAvever, had the principles that have since been 
used in the modern engine ; but in the trial it broke doAvn and Avas 
thus defeated. Many private raihvays or tramAvays Avere constructed 
in England before this. It is thought that the year 1825 is the 
earliest date for such a road. While this is true, yet it Avas the 
Liverpool and Manchester Railway that first shoAved the possi- 
bilities of steam in locomotion. 

I have noted that railroads, and the use of steam on them, began 
first in England ; but the Uiaited States has shoAvn to the world the 
greatest development of this system of transportation. The rail- 
road Avas a necessity to this new country, and the idea Avas realized 
just as the country began to seriously consider modes of travel ; con- 
sequently it readily took up Avith the raihvay and locomotive, for it 



846 INSTITUTIONAL HISTORY OF UNITED STATES. 

had no traditions to overcome and not many canals and tnrnpikes to 
become useless thereby, as Europe had. For these reasons the 
latter was much more tardy in taking up with the new invention. 

The tramway preceded the railway in America. The first tram- 
road was in the granite mines of Kew England, in 1826, and was 
operated by horses. The second tramway was in the coal mines 
of Pennsylvania in the same year. Engines moved the latter. An 
English locomotive was imported in 1828 by the Delaware and 
Hudson Canal Company to be used on a tramway, but it was not 
successful. In 1828 was begun the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, 
which was completed for 14 miles, and opened for traffic in 1830. 
In 1831 the road was extended to 61 miles and was operated by horse- 
power; but in the latter part of that year an American locomotive 
was put on the road, which was extended to 67 miles in 1832. 

The first railroad to iise an American locomotive was the South 
Carolina Railroad in 1830. By 1833 the road Avas 136 miles long. 
The Mohawk and Hudson road was begun in 1830, and was opened for 
travel the next year. It imported its first locomotive from England, 
but found it too heavy and put it aside for an American make. The 
Saratoga Railroad and the New York and Harlem were begun in 
1831. The Camden and Amsbury was begun in New Jersey in 
1831; the Philadelphia and Trenton, in 1833; the Baltimore and 
Ohio was extended to Washington in 1835 ; the New York Central 
was opened in 1836; and seven other lines Avere completed by 
1842. 

The reader will see that railroad-building became of great im- 
portance in the United States from the very first. This interest 
continued until the crisis of 1837, which stopped all such enter- 
prise, and very little more was done in that line until after the 
gold-fields of California were discovered in 1848. This is some- 
times called the formative period of railroad-building in this country. 
There had been 5205 miles of railway completed by 1848. By 1861 
there were several through routes completed. Cincinnati and Lake 
Erie Avere joined. The Cleveland, Columbus, and Cincinnati road 
was completed in 1851. Chicago became connected Avith Ncav York 
in the same year, and with the Mississippi River in 1854. The Ohio 
and Mississippi, connecting St. Louis and Cincinnati, Avas com- 
pleted in 1856. 

The government and states began making land grants to rail- 
roads about 1850, though one was made to the Illinois Central in 



TRANSPORTATION. 347 

1836, it being the first road to receive such help. During Fillmore's 
administration 8,000,000 acres were granted to roads; and during 
Pierce's 19,000,000 were so appropriated. 

The crisis of 1857 and the Civil War stopped railroad enterprise 
for a few years, but the War also developed new energy in that line. 
It became a necessity, politically, to unite the two oceans by a rail- 
road. Such a project had been thought of as early as 1846, but it 
was not until 1862 that Congress chartered the Union Pacific Rail- 
way Company, and adopted the Central route to the Pacific. The 
government gave a subsidy to the road of $30,000,000, and a land 
grant of 23,000,000 acres, a territory almost as large as Indiana. 
The Northern Pacific received, soon afterwards, 47,000,000 acres. 
There have been 300,000 square miles of territory given to rail- 
roads. This is a territory nearly ten times larger than Indiana. 
Besides this vast area and millions of money from the general 
government, cities, states, counties, and individuals have appro- 
priated other millions of dollars. 

The consolidation of railroads has been the policy since the War. 
The New York Central is made up of about twenty different roads, 
and has 4000 miles of railroad under one system. It was the first 
road to unite the East and West by a through route. The Pennsyl- 
vania line includes more than 7000 miles of road. In the West there 
are several roads that control from 1000 to 10,000 miles of travel. 
This consolidation of roads has developed into combines and mo- 
nopolies, Avhich deal out very great injustice to the people in some 
places. To prevent this combination, which is the present tendency 
of railroads, laws have been made, but with no great effect. The 
first law was for the regulating of rates, and was hotly contested by 
the roads until 1877, when the Supreme Court upheld the constitu- 
tionality of the law. That decision settled the fight along that line, 
though shrewd manipulations have since partially annulled the law. 
The Interstate-Commerce Act of 1887 was the next law to force 
the railroads to deal fairly with the people. This forbids pooling 
and demands uniform rates for all travel either of freight or 
passenger. It is ineffectual in some parts of the country by 
reason of trickery and dishonest enforcement of law. The rail- 
roads have been vast civilizers, but the avariciousness of men has 
sometimes made them instruments of tyranny. 

The gross earnings of all the railroads of the country now 
amount to nearly one and one-quarter billions of dollars annually. 



348 INSTITUTIONAL HISTORY OF UNITED STATES. 

In 1892 there were 175,000 miles of railroad in the United States, 
120,000 miles of which having been built since 1870. There are 
more than 4,000,000 miles of railways in the world. 

Among the ideals of railroad men now is the Pan-American Rail- 
road from Chili to Canada. It is also proposed to span Behring 
Strait by a road, and thns connect North America with Asia and 
Europe. If these plans should be completed, and who would dare 
say they will not, one could take a train at Valparaiso, Chili, ride 
to Behring Strait, then cross into Siberia, on through Asia into 
Europe, and leave his train in London at least 20,000 miles from 
the starting-point. Or one could take a palace car at New York 
City and go in it to London, England. 

The speed possible with steam locomotives has been a question 
of great interest. From going 10 miles an hour in 1830, the loco- 
motive can now pull a heavy train 60 miles per hour or even 80 and 
90. This should indeed satisfy man, it seems ; but now he talks of 
moving 150 and 200 miles per hour, and even 300 miles, as carelessly 
as he would have talked of going 25 miles per hour fifty years ago. 
Indeed, we believe that a train scheduled at 150 miles per hour is 
one of the near probabilities. The National Kapid Transit Com- 
pany is now asking for a charter from Congress, to erect a road 
between New York and Washington on which the scheduled time 
shall be two miles per minute. The General Electric Company of 
New York offers to guarantee motors that will furnish speed of 150 
miles per hour. 

This is thought to be possible by means of the Brott Eajiid Tran- 
sit System. This is a bicycle railway, so called because the wheels 
are on one track only instead of two, as in our present system. The 
road is elevated, so there can be no danger from crossings. There 
are to be side wheels that will touch side tracks if the car oscillates 
any ; but the car is to run smoothly on one track on the principle of 
the bicycle, that it will stand upright when moving rapidly. The 
side wheels will have pneumatic tires to prevent jarring should they 
touch the rails in stopping and starting. The current of electricity 
will be taken from a conductor on the trolley principle. An experi- 
mental track of this nature is to be built from Washington, District 
of Columbia, to the Chesapeake Bay. It seems certain to succeed, 
and the day is not far distant when it will not require a ton of ear 
weight to carry a passenger, as this new plan will require only 400 
pounds. Thus, without dust, smoke, crossings, and locomotives, we 



TEANSPOKTATION. 



349 



shall soon be able to speed across the country at a rate of two miles 
or more per minute. 

The electric locomotive is also sought after, since it would save 
expense, and, it is thought, would add to the rapidity of traveling, 
minus the smoke and dust ; but the experiments along that line have 
not been very successful so far, as steam must generate the power 
to run the motor from which comes the electricity. 

What is called the Light-traffic Eailway System is to-day of as 
great importance as the railroad. This system includes trolley roads, 
elevated roads, underground roads, rapid transit, etc. At this time, 
there are about 12,000 miles of street railways in the United States, 
run by horse-power, electricity, steam, motors, and cables. New 
York favors the elevated roads on which are used small steam loco- 
motives. It is thought that these roads carry a million people daily 
in that city alone. There are three elevated roads in Chicago. In 
all the chief cities the trolley and cable are used, the former being 
much more popular. The underground railroads of London carry 
300,000,000 people annually. These roads cost the most money for 
construction. The elevated is next in order in cost. The former 
costs about $5,000,000 per mile ; and the latter, about $750,000 per 
mile. The cable costs about $350,000 per mile, the horse railway 
about $75,000 per mile, and the electric about $45,000 per mile. 

The most noted mountain railway in the United States is that 
ascending Pike's Peak, completed in 1891. It has a double-cogged 
rail and two cog-wheels. The road is 8 miles long, and rises 14,000 
feet. 

The hydraulic sliding railway system is one of the novel experi- 
ments at the present, and may become useful. The cars have runners 
instead of wheels and operate like a sleigh, on an iron rail. Water 
is forced through small holes in the runners of the car, and this 
decreases the friction. No locomotive is used. The propelling 
power is furnished by placing water jets between the rails. These 
jets force water against pallets under the cars, much the same as 
water striking a water-Avheel. It is estimated that a speed of 125 
miles an hour could be made with this system, but it certainly has 
many uncertainties and difficulties. 

In many cities the authorities have ordered all Avires put under- 
ground, aud the time is probably near when electricity must travel 
in the earth instead of above it. With this purpose in view, many 
experiments are being made and many patents have been issued. 



350 INSTITUTIONAL HISTORY OF UNITED STATES. 

The Couduit System of electric railways is no doubt the solution of 
the problem of underground Aviring. 

Not the least factors in easy and quick transportation are the 
bridges and tunnels. Before the days of iron and steel, great bridges 
were impossible. Then the stone arch was the best bridge known, 
and that could not span a long space. In 1755 the first iron bridge 
was begun at Lyons, France, but was abandoned on account of the 
cost. Four years later such a bridge was completed over the Severn 
in England, which is still standing. It spans 100 feet space, and is 
built with an arch 45 feet high. Soon afterwards another bridge, 
236 feet long, was built in England. In 1803 an iron bridge spanned 
the Seine at Paris. It was in nine arches, and was 516 feet long. 

The first suspension bridge was built in 1820-26, in North Wales, 
and cost f 100,000. The suspension was held by great chains, and 
hung over a space 579 feet long. The total length of the bridge 
was about 1800 feet. The second bridge of this kind was built at 
Vienna, where linked steel was used instead of chains. The sus- 
pended part of this bridge was 334 feet. Soon after this one, a like 
bridge, 870 feet long, suspended by wire chains, was built in Swit- 
zerland. The king of bridges is the cantilever bridge across the 
Firth of Forth, in Scotland. It is 2 miles long and cost $3,000,000. 
This is considered the greatest piece of engineering in the world. 

In our own country we have many great bridges, the most noted 
of which is the Brooklyn bridge, a little more than a mile long, 
built after the suspension plan with wire cables, and costing 
$6,000,000. The bridge at Poughkeepsie is 3100 feet long, is built 
on the cantilever plan with steel trestles, and cost $3,000,000. The 
great St. Louis bridge is built with steel arches, is 1700 feet long, 
and cost $6,000,000. A bridge is now being planned to cross the 
Hudson liiver, connecting New York and New Jersey. If com- 
pleted, it will be the greatest bridge in the world, and will cost 
$25,000,000. It will be a suspension bridge spanning a clear space 
of 3110 feet. This span will be the longest in the world, nearly 
twice as long as the span at the Firth of Forth. The longest bridge 
in the United States is at Cairo, Illinois. It is 10,560 feet long. 
At Cincinnati is a bridge 6000 feet long. 

Man's great works have developed in many lines, but no line 
has shown greater genius and more persistent effort than tunnel- 
making. There are said to be nearly 1200 tunnels in the world, 
1000 of which, making a total length of 350 miles, being for railroad 



TRANSPORTATION. 351 

purposes. Twelve are to give passage under rivers, and make a total 
length of 9 miles. Ninety are used for canals, and are 70 miles long. 
Forty have been made for commerci'al x^urposes, and are 85 miles 
long. 

History speaks of a tunnel under the Eviphrates made by Babylon. 
Rome built a great many, the most famous of which was the Great 
Sewer, still in use. In Europe there are four mountain tunnels, 
ranging from 5 to 10 miles long, having cost from $7,000,000 to 
$16,000,000 each. It required from 3 to 20 years each to build the 
tunnels. The greatest railway tunnel in United States is the Cascade 
tunnel on the Northern Pacific Railway. It is 9850 feet long, and 
was completed in 28 months, a remarkably short time for such a 
work. It was begun in 1887 and completed in 1889, at a cost of 
$1,160,000. The Croton aqueduct of New York is almost wholly 
imderground, and is properly a tunnel 30 miles long. It is the 
longest and most costly tunnel of modern times, the expense of 
making it being nearly $24,000,000. 

The first subaqueous tunnel of modern times was one under the 
Thames at London, Avhich was 40 years in building. It is now pro- 
posed to join England and France by such a tunnel. The work 
was begun in 1882, but has not been finished, though the day will 
come when one can go by rail from Paris to London. 

Thus I have tried to show the development in transportation 
during the last hundred years. Wonderful as the development has 
been, it has not yet reached its climax, nor shall it do so until all the 
forces of nature shall add their might to make man skim the air 
like a bird, a time when San Francisco and New York shall be 
but one day apart, and a trip to Europe only an incident in time 
and purpose. 



CHAPTER XXXV. 

STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT. 

Indiana's Constitution — Voting — Office-holding — Elections — Legis- 
lative Department — Senators and Representatives — Time of 
Meeting — Bills — Prohibitions — Executive Department — Governor 

— Lieutenant-Governor — Duties — Salary — Term — Judicial Depart- 
ment — Nature — Duties — Supreme Court — Appellate Court — Cir- 
cuit Court — Salary — Term — Superior Courts — Courts of Claims — 
Corporations — Militia — School System — Administrative Officers — 
State Institutions — County Government — Township — Town — Cities 

— Ohio — Procedure of a Trial — Illinois — Kentucky. 

I SHALL endeavor to illustrate local government by describing 
the government of a few states, making Indiana the most com- 
plete. The constitution of Indiana provides that all elections shall 
be free and equal ; that voters must be male citizens of the United 
States, at least twenty-one years of age, and have resided in the 
state six months, in the county sixty days, and in the ward or ' 
precinct thirty days immediately preceding the election. Foreigners 
who have declared it their intention to become citizens may vote 
after a residence of one year in the United States. Soldiers and 
sailors stationed in the state and not citizens of it do not have tlie 
right to vote, and a citizen away from the state on business for it or 
the United States does not lose his right to vote. Voters may be 
disfranchised for a crime, and are free from arrest while going 
to or from the polls, except for treason, felony, or breach of the 
peace. 

No one may hold office who is proven guilty of bribery, threat, 
or promise of reward to procure an election ; who fights a duel or 
challenges another; or who is convicted of an infamous crime. One 
who holds a lucrative office under the United States or the state 
cannot hold a seat in the General Assembly, and no one can hold 
more than one lucrative office, except in the inilitia, where officers 

852 



STATE AfID LOCAL GOVERNMENT. 353 

not on an annual salary may fill two places. Deputy postmasters 
not drawing more than $90 salary per year have also the same 
privilege. The offices of county clerk, recorder, and auditor, in 
counties of fewer than 1000 voters, may all be in charge of one 
man, or any two of them may exist with one man. 

All elections by the people must be by ballot ; and all by the 
General Assembly, by voice. General elections are held on the 
Tuesday after the first Monday in November ; and local elections, 
at such times as the law may determine. The General Assembly has 
the privilege of providing for the election of judges of the general 
and appellate courts at a time when no other election is held. The 
Australian system of voting was adopted by the Assembly in 1889. 

The powers of the government are divided into three depart- 
ments, — Legislative, Executive, and Judicial. The Legislative De- 
partment consists of a General Assembly, which includes a Senate 
and House of Representatives. The number of senators shall not 
exceed fifty, and they are chosen by the voters of senatorial districts, 
into which the state is divided. A county cannot be divided for 
senatorial purposes. The senators serve four years, the term of 
half of them expiring every even year. A senator must be an in- 
habitant of the state two years just preceding his election, a citizen 
of the United States, and an inhabitant for one year of the district 
by which he is chosen. He must be at least twenty-five years old. 
The lieutenant-governor is president of the Senate. Besides being 
a legislative body, the Senate tries all impeachments of state officers. 
There are now (1897) fifty senators. The number of representatives 
must not exceed 100, and they are chosen by the voters in the repre- 
sentative districts. A district may consist of one or more counties, 
but they must be contiguous. The representatives hold office for 
two years and have the same qualifications as the senators, except 
that a representative must be at least twenty-one years old. Tliey 
are elected each even year, in the general election of the state. 
The House chooses its own speaker, and has the sole power of im- 
peaching state officers. Every six years an enumeration is made 
of all the voters of the state, and the General Assembly meeting 
just after this enumeration apportions the senators and representa- 
tives according to the number of voters. There are now 100 
representatives. 

The Assembly meets regularly on the Tuesday next after the 
first Monday in January of each odd year, and meets in special 
2 a 



354 INSTITUTIONAL HISTOIIY OF UNITED STATES. 

session at the call of the governor. A regular session cannot con- 
tinue longer than sixty-one days, and a special longer than forty days. 
A quorum in each house consists of two-thirds of the members. 
Each house chooses its own officers (president of the Senate 
excepted), judges of the election and qualifications of its members, 
makes its own rules, and determines its own adjournment. Each 
must punish its own members for disorderly conduct, must keep 
a journal of its proceedings, and may sit with closed doors when 
the business requires secrecy. Law determines the pay of members, 
and no increase can be made to take effect during the session mak- 
ing the increase. If either house fail to organize within five days 
after a quorum is present, the members cannot draw pay until an 
organization is made. 

Any bill, except one for revenue, may originate in either house. 
A bill for reveniie must originate in the lower house. Bills may be 
amended in either house or rejected by either. They are read on 
three different days in each house, unless the reading be dispensed 
with by a two-thirds vote. On the final passage, every bill must be 
read by sections. A majority vote of both houses shall pass a bill, 
which is then signed by the presiding officer and sent to the gov- 
ernor, who signs or rejects it ; if the latter, lie sends it, with his 
objections, back to the house originating it. It may then become 
a law by a majority vote of the Assembly. If the governor fail to 
return a bill within three days after receiving it, Sunday excepted, 
it becomes a law without his signature, unless the adjournment 
of the Assembly should prevent a return. It then becomes a law 
unless the governor within four days shall file the bill and his 
objections with the Secretary of the State, who shall bring it before 
the next General Assembly. No bill can be presented to the gov- 
ernor within two days of adjournment of the Assembly. No law 
is of effect until it is published and circulated in the counties of 
the state, except in cases of emergency, which emergency shall be 
declared in the bill. 

There are several prohibitions placed on the Assembly. It can- 
not pass local or special laws on the duties and jurisdiction of jus- 
tices of the peace or constables ; on the practice in courts ; on change 
of venue ; on divorces ; on changing names of persons ; on laying out 
or vacating roads, town plots, streets, alleys, and public squares; on 
the regulation of county and township business; on election of 
county and township officers ; on assessment and collection of taxes, 



STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT. 355 

and the support of the common schools ; on fees, salaries, and inter- 
est; on elections and voting places ; and on the sale of real estate by 
executors, administrators, guardians, or trustees. In all the above, 
laws shall be general and uniform. No member of either house can 
be appointed by the Assembly to any office. Members cannot be 
arrested during the session of the Assembly, nor in going to or 
from the same, except for treason, felony, and breach of peace. 
They cannot be subjected by law to any civil action during the 
session, nor for the fifteen days preceding it. 

The Executive Department is vested in a governor, who, with the 
lieutenant-governor, holds office for four years. They are chosen 
by the voters of the state. The returns of the election are sealed 
up and sent to the Speaker of the House, who opens and reads the 
result in the presence of both houses. If there is no election, the 
General Assembly shall jointly elect one of the two candidates 
receiving the highest vote for governor, and the other for lieutenant- 
governor. The qualifications of these offices are the same. They 
must be citizens of the United States at least five years, a resident 
of the state for the same time just preceding election, and thirty 
years of age or more. No member of Congress nor any officer of 
the United States is eligible to either office, nor can either officer 
fill any other office during his term. 

If a vacancy occur in the governor's office, the lieutenant-gov- 
ernor shall take the place ; and if then he be removed, the General 
Assembly shall provide for the vacancy. If the lieutenant-governor 
become governor, the Senate elects one of its own members as presi- 
dent of its body. The governor is commander-in-chief of the mili- 
tary and naval forces of the state. He is a general executive officer, 
may pardon any criminal except one guilty of treason or one im- 
peached, and may remit fines and forfeitures. The General 
Assembly may constitute a council without whose consent the 
governor shall not issue a pardon, except in cases where he has 
full power. While the Assembly is not in session, the governor 
must fill all vacancies which belong to that body to fill. He must 
also fill vacancies in state offices and in the office of a judge of any 
court until the office is filled by election. When there are vacancies 
in the General Assembly, he must issue writs of election to fill 
them. The lieutenant-governor presides over the Senate, and may 
join in debate and vote Avhen the Senate is in committee of the 
whole. When in ordinary session, he has a vote only in the case of 



356 INSTITUTIONAL HISTORY OF UNITED STATES. 

a tie. The eompeusatiou of tlie governor is lixed by law, and can 
neither be increased nor decreased during the term for which he is 
elected. It is now $4000 per year. The lieutenant-governor, or 
president of the Senate, receives the same pay as the Speaker of 
the House, which is now $8 per day. 

The Judicial Department is vested in a Supreme (Jourt, Circuit 
Courts, and such other courts as the General Assembly shall estal)- 
lish. It has established Superior and Criminal courts in some 
counties, and a Court of Claims and an Appellate Court for the 
whole state. There are five judges of the Supreme ('ourt. The 
state is divided into five districts, and one judge is elected from 
each district, the voters of the state voting for all. The judges 
serve six years, and elect one of their number each term of court 
to act as chief-justice. It is their duty to interpret the constitu- 
tion and laws of the state, to direct the actions of inferior courts, 
and to decide on appeals from the lower courts. If their decision 
involve a question of United States law, an appeal can be made to 
the United States Supreme Court. The Supreme Court holds two 
sessions each year at the Capital, beginning in May and November, 
and continuing thirty days or longer, as the business requires. 
Three members of the bench constitute a quorum. The officers of 
the Supreme Court are a clerk, sheriff, and reporter. The first and 
third are elected by the people for four years, and the second is 
appointed by the court for two years. 

In 1891 an Appellate Court of five judges was organized. These 
judges have the same districts as the supreme judges. They are 
elected by the people. They have jurisdiction of appeals from the 
Circuit, Superior, and Criminal courts, in cases of misdemeanor, in 
cases from the Justices' Court when the amount involved is more 
than $50, and in cases of recovery of money when the amount does 
not exceed $3500. In these cases the decision is final. The first 
judges were appointed by the governor to serve until Januaiy, 
1893, when their successors were elected for four years ; after which 
time the coui-t will cease to exist, unless further provided for. 

The Circuit Courts are presided over by one judge each, and 
have their jurisdiction prescribed by law. The number of circuits 
is fixed by the General Assembly, which may increase or decrease 
it. A circuit judge is elected for six years. There are now fifty- 
six circuits, and the judge must hold court in each county of his 
circuit. 



STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT. 357 

Superior Courts have been estcablishecl in Allen, Marion, Tippe- 
canoe, Vanderburg, and Vigo counties. There is one judge for each 
court, except for the Marion county court, which has three. The 
judges are elected by the voters of their respective counties ; they 
serve four years, and hold court each month except July and August. 
Marion County has one Criminal Court, presided over by one judge, 
who is elected by the people of the county for four years. 

The Marion County Superior Court is also constituted a Court of 
Claims, which hears all cases against the state for recovery of money 
or property. The voters elect a justice of the peace, or they may 
elect two in each township, and one for each incorporated town and 
city in the township. Their term of office is four years. He has 
jurisdiction in cases where the amount does not exceed $100, 
in cases concurrent with the Circuit Court in amounts not exceed- 
ing f 200, and in minor criminal cases. He can assess no fine 
over $25. There are as many constables in a township as justices, 
and they are elected for four years. Each circuit has a prosecuting 
attorney, who is elected by the people for two years. 

As to limitations placed upon certain privileges, one of the most 
important is that which regulates corporations. The state legislature 
is forbidden to create any bank or institution of any nature for the 
purpose of issuing bills of credit to circulate as money, except under 
a general banking law, or a bank with branches. If a bank issue 
money under a general banking law, all such money must be regis- 
tered and countersigned by a state officer, and good collateral security 
must be given for the redemption of the same in specie. The security 
shall be under the control of the proper state officer. 

The Assembly may charter a bank with branches, all of which are 
mutually responsible for the issues, and collateral security shall not 
be required. Stockholders are made responsible for an amount equal 
to their shares over and above the stock held by each. All bills must 
be redeemed in specie, and no law can be made sanctioning the sus- 
pension of specie payment. If a bank become insolvent, the holders 
of its notes are preferred creditors. A bank cannot receive a greater 
rate of interest than the law allows individuals loaning money, and 
no bank can continue in business longer than twenty years without 
reorganization. The student should understand that these banking 
laws were made when state banks issued money, but in 1863 Con- 
gress levied a tax of 10 per cent, on such issues and thus forced all 
such banks to stop their circulation. A bank can borrow money at 



358 INSTITUTIONAL HISTORY OF UNITED STATES. 

4 per cent, aud of course would not issue money and pay 10 per 
cent, on it. 

Another interesting feature of Indiana's state government is her 
militia. Able-bodied males from eighteen years to fort3'-five years 
of age are enlisted. The governor appoints the adjutant-general, 
quartermaster-general, and commissary-general. The Assembly pro- 
vides for the regulation of the militia by law. The militia is divided 
into two classes, — the active and sedentary. The former consists 
of all who are enrolled and duly organized ; the latter, of all citi- 
zens subject to bear arms, and not belonging to the active militia. 
Persons conscientiously opposed to bearing arms are exempted from 
service by paying a sum of money. The governor as commander- 
in-chief may call out the militia when it is necessary to put down 
riots, insurrections, or invasions. 

Indiana has a school system that ranks well with that of any 
other state in the Union. The school fund consists of the congres- 
sional township fund and the lands belonging to it, surplus revenue 
fund, saline fund, and lands belonging to it, bank-tax fund, the fund 
derived from the sale of county seminaries, fines for breaches in the 
penal law, forfeitures, escheats, lands granted to the state where no 
especial purpose is expressed, taxes on corporations that may be 
assessed by the Assembly for school purposes, and license fees from 
retail liquor stores. The school fund is Jf? 10, OCX), 000, and the school 
property is valued at f 15,000,000. The interest alone on much of 
this fund can be used, and the amount has been found insufficient. 
Taxes are levied on all taxable property for tuition purposes. The 
whole income from all these sources is annually apportioned among 
the counties of the state in proportion to the number of children of 
school age. 

Trustees of townships, towns, and cities are authorized to levy an 
additional tax not exceeding 25 cents on each f 100 of taxable prop- 
erty, and 25 cents on each taxable poll. This goes to the schools of 
the locality making the assessment. The officers elected to carry 
out this system of education are the state sui)erintendent of public 
instruction, State Board of Education, a superintendent for each 
county, a trustee for each township, and a board of three trustees 
for each town or city, except Indianapolis, which has a much larger 
school board. Each school district has a director. The County 
Board of Education is composed of the trustees of the county, the 
president of school boards of incorporated towns and cities in the 



STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT. 359 

county, and the county superintendent, who is president of the 
board. 

The chief administrative officer is the state secretary, who holds 
his office for two years, and is elected by the people. He cannot 
hold office longer than two successive terms, and keeps, publishes, 
and distributes the laws of the state. The auditor of the state is 
elected by the people and serves two years. He settles and keeps 
the accounts of the state Avith the counties, other states. United 
States, and with persons and individuals having business Avith the 
state. He caimot hold office more than two terms in succession. The 
treasurer of the state is elected by the people, and serves for two years. 

The state superintendent of public instruction is elected by the 
peox^le for two years, and, as his name indicates, has charge of the 
educational affairs of the state. The state geologist is elected for 
four years, and has charge of the geological and scientifical researches. 
He appoints an inspector of mines, inspector of mineral oils, and 
an inspector of natural gas. The state statistician is elected for 
two years. His duty is to collect and report statistics on agriculture, 
manufacturing, mining, commerce, education, labor, marriage, divorce, 
birth, death, sanitary condition, etc. The attorney-general is elected 
for two years. He is the legal adviser of the administration, and 
defends and prosecutes all claims to which the state is a party. The 
state librarian is elected by the General Assembly for two years. 
He cares for the state library. Notaries public are appointed by the 
governor for four years. 

The different boards of trustees for the state schools, Women's 
Reformatory, Reform School for Boys, Soldiers' and Sailors' Home, 
Orphans' Home, and the School for Feeble Minded are appointed by 
the governor. This was true previous to the Assembly of 1895, which 
placed the penal and charitable institutions in the hands of a board, 
which shall appoint the superintendents for those institutions. 

The State Board of Education consists of the governor, state 
superintendent, the presidents of the state schools, and the city 
superintendents of the three largest cities of the state. They exam- 
ine teachers for state license, prepare questions for teachers' exami- 
nations, and constitute a board to provide suitable text-books for the 
common schools. 

The county clerk is elected for four years and is eligible for 
eight years of any twelve. He is the clerk of the Board of County 
Commissioners, makes out the tax duplicates, has charge of the 



8(30 INSTITUTIONAL HISTORY OF UNITED STATES. 

public school fund of the county, records and transfers all real estate, 
furnishes poll books and blanks to election boards, reports to the 
state auditor the number of male inhabitants over twenty-one years 
old, and makes a statistical report to the State Bureau of Statistics. 
The county recorder is elected for four years and can serve but 
eight out of any twelve. He keeps the records, mortgages, inden- 
tures, articles of incorporation, town plots, maps, etc. The county 
treasurer is elected for two years and is eligible for four out of any 
six. He receives and cares for the county funds and pays them out 
by order of the auditor. He collects the taxes and pays to the state 
treasurer the money due the state from the county. The sheriff 
serves two years and is eligible but four of any six. He is an 
executive officer, has charge of the county jail, and is peace officer 
for the county. If the sheriff is removed or under arrest, the coro- 
ner acts in his place. The coroner serves two years. It is his duty 
to hold inquests. The surveyor serves two years. These officers 
are all elected by the voters of the county. Each county has three 
commissioners elected by the people for three years. Their duties 
are complex. They care for the poor, fix the rates of taxation, and 
make appropriations. They see to the roads, bridges, and county 
buildings. They may appoint a justice of the peace and may for 
cause dismiss the county superintendent. 

The assessor is elected for four years and is not eligible for 
reelection. He is the supervisor of township assessors and may 
assess any omitted property. He, Avith the auditor and treasurer, 
constitutes a County Board of Review for equalizing taxes. The 
county superintendent is elected by the township trustees. It is 
his duty to see to the common schools of the county. He examines 
teachers for license, and may revoke the same for cause. He holds 
and conducts county institutes and is president of the County 
Board of Education. All county officers must be voters in their 
counties and must have resided in the county at least one year just 
preceding election. The salary of the county officers is frequently 
changed by the Assembly. 

There is one trustee to each township, elected by the people for 
four years in any eight. He has charge of the poor in the township, 
is inspector of general and township elections, and must furnish 
ballot-boxes and meals to the election board. He must care for the 
schoolhouses and property, furnish school supplies, and employ the 
teachers. He levies taxes for school purposes, enumerates the chil- 



STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT. 361 

dren of school age, has general charge of roads and bridges, and 
appoints road supervisors. School directors are elected by the peo- 
ple, one for each district. They have the care of school property 
and execute the orders of the trustees. 

A town must have a Board of Trustees, which is its legislative 
body. The members are elected by the voters of the town for two 
years. Other officers are the town clerk, treasurer, and marshal, 
who hold office one year. The Board of Trustees elect the School 
Board of three members for three years. When a town has a popu- 
lation of 2000 or more, it may organize a city government with 
a mayor, City Court, and a police force. A city has the three 
departments of government, — Executive, Judicial, and Legislative. 
It is a little state within itself. It is divided into Avards, in each of 
which the people elect two members as councilmen for four years. 

Our large cities have a much more complex government than the 
small ones. The cities of Indiana are classed into three divisions. 
All above 35,000 inhabitants are divided as follows: those having 
a population of more than 100,000; those of more than 50,000 
and fewer than 100,000; and those of more than 35,000 and fewer 
than 50,000. In such cities the people elect four officers and the 
council or mayor appoints others. There are the departments of 
Finance, LaAv, Public Works, Public Safety, Collection, Public 
Health, Charities, and Waterworks. The mayor appoints the 
superintendent of all these. All bills passed by the council 
must be signed or vetoed by the mayor. 

In cities of more than 10,000 people and fewer than 35,000, 
the governor appoints a Board of Police consisting of three 
members, who serve for three years; they must be of different 
political parties, though two may be of one party. In a city 
of 100,000 people or more, the election is held on the second 
Tuesday in October of the odd years; in cities of from 50,000 
to 100,000, on the first Monday in April of the odd years; in 
all other cities, on the first Tuesday in May of the even years. 
Thus within the United States government is the complete 
machinery of state, county, township, town, and city govern- 
ments. One in a city or town may have part in five different 
governments, each of Avhich affords protection in its peculiar 
manner and department. It would seem that the United States 
has solved the great problem of local and national government 
in one. 



362 INSTITUTIONAL HISTORY OF UNITED STATES. 

A few other states shall receive a brief notice. Ohio's legislature 
is proportioned according to the population of the state. Every 
ten years the whole number of people is divided by 100, and 
the quotient is called the ratio of representation. The number of 
representatives for each coiint}^ is ascertained by dividing the popu- 
lation of the county by the ratio of representation. A county wliose 
population equals one-half the ratio has one representative; and a 
county whose population equals one and three- fourths the ratio has 
two representatives. A county has an extra representative when 
its population is greater than the one-half or one and three-fourths 
times the ratio, and the number of years it has this representative is 
such a part of ten years as the excessive population is of the ratio. 

The senatorial ratio is found by dividing the population of 
the states by .35. The state is divided into 35 districts, and the 
senators are ai)portioned among these as the representatives 
are among the counties. The legislature meets biennially on the 
first Monday in January. Each member of the legislature must 
have resided in his county or district one year just preceding elec- 
tion. Ohio elects a governor every two years and has no constitu- 
tional qualifications for him. 

It will not be necessary to discuss at length the executive depart- 
ment of any state, after having described Indiana's. All states 
have a governor, lieutenant-governor, secretary, treasurer, auditor, 
except Wisconsin, attorney-general, and a superintendent of pub- 
lic instruction. All these are elected by the people except in Min- 
nesota, where the governor appoints the superintendent of public 
instruction. The officers of most states hold office for two years. 
Illinois elects all her state officers except the treasurer for four 
years, and he is chosen for two years. In Ohio the auditor is chosen 
for four years ; the school commissioners, for three years ; and tlie 
secretary, for two years. The auditor of Minnesota is chosen for 
three years. Kentucky elects all her executive and administrative 
officers for four years. 

Each state has one Supreme Court. In Ohio there are five judges 
of this court, elected for five years. The one whose term first 
expires is chief-justice. The Supreme Court of Illinois has seven 
judges, elected for nine years. The court chooses its own chief- 
justice. There are four judges in Michigan, elected for eight years; 
the one whose term first expires is chief-justice. Kentucky has 
from five to seven judges, elected for eight years. 



STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT. 363 

Each state has its Circuit or District courts, which are lower 
courts and do the greater part of the judicial work of the state. 
Many states have Probate Courts. They probate wills, and attend 
to the administration of estates. There are Municipal Courts, or 
town and city courts, and justices of the peace in every state. All 
the courts, except the Justices', have a clerk and reporter, and 
there is a prosecuting attorney for the county courts. 

To give the reader some idea of judicial procedure, I shall discuss 
the different phases of a case in court. The person bringing the 
charge is the plaintiff, and the person accused is the defendant. A 
suit in court is either criminal or civil ; the former, if the defendant 
has violated a law, for which he must be punished; the latter, if 
the suit is a recovery of property or damage. A criminal action 
always has the state for plaintiff. 

The state in a criminal action makes a complaint or affidavit 
before the court, and the justice issues a warrant for the defendant. 
This is given to the sheriff, his deputy, or the constable, and he 
makes the arrest and brings the accused before the court, which 
appoints a time for trial. Unless the case is a very serious one, the 
defendant is released on bail or the recognizance of some friend or 
friends, who agree to pay a certain sum of money if the accused 
does not comply with the law in the case and present himself for 
trial. If he can give no bail, he must remain in the custody of the 
law. 

Subpoenas are issued to all the witnesses in the case, and the day 
of trial appears. The prisoner is arraigned for trial and pleads 
guilty or not guilty to the charge. If he plead not guilty, the trial 
proceeds. 

The jury are chosen carefully and the testimony is presented to 
them. They, after hearing this, the pleading of the attorneys, and 
the charge of the justice, retire for making the decision. This 
kind of a jury is called a petit jury. We have also a grand jury, 
whose duty it is to inquire into charges, public morals, etc., and 
bring charges wherever it thinks advisable. These charges are 
called indictments, upon which the accused is tried in open court, 
as shown above. If he desire, the accused may have a jury trial in 
all cases involving certain amounts. 

Coming back to the Legislative Department of the state, I shall 
speak briefly of Illinois and Kentucky. Once in ten years the 
population of Illinois is divided by 51 for the ratio of repre- 



364 INSTITUTIONAL HISTORY OF UNITED STATES. 

seutation. The state is divided by the legislature into 51 dis- 
tricts as nearly equal in population as possible. In each district 
the voters elect one senator and three representatives. In electing 
the representatives, the voter has three votes and he may cast them 
for one man, or one for each of the three, or divide them among the 
candidates as he chooses. Each member of the legislature must be 
a citizen of the United States, must have resided in the state at 
least five years, and in his district at least two years next preceding 
his election. Senators must be at least twenty-five years old. The 
terms of one-half the senators expire every two years. Representa- 
tives must be at least twenty-one years old and they serve two years. 
The legislature meets biennially on the Wednesday next after the 
first Monday in January. 

Kentucky has 38 senators and 100 representatives. Every 
ten years the General Assembly districts the state, making 38 
senatorial districts and 100 representative districts. The senators 
serve four years, the terms of one-half of them expiring every two 
years. The representatives serve for two years and must be at 
least twenty-four years old, citizens of the state, and must have 
been residents of the state for two years at least just preceding 
election, and residents of the district one year. Senators must 
l)e at least thirty years old, citizens of the state, and must have 
been residents of the state for at least six years, and of the 
district one year just preceding election. The Assembly meets 
biennially on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in January, 
for not more than sixty days. 

It is not necessary to discuss county government and officers for 
Ohio, Kentucky, and Illinois, since theirs is much like that of 
Indiana, which has already been described. 



CHAPTER XXXVI. 

GOVERNMENTS OF THE WORLD. 

Early Governments — Theories — Devolution — Africa — Asia — Oceanica 
— Europe — Western Continent. 

MAN never gets so low in civilization but that he is under law, 
and never reaches so high but that government attends him. 
It is a strange fact that the government of man in the two extremes 
of his advancement differs very little. This is especially true with 
the Aryan race. When the Teuton roamed the forests of Ancient 
Europe, democracy was his government, and republicanism developed 
soon. His political rights were taken from him in succeeding cen- 
turies, and the great qiiestion of government in modern history has 
been to give back those rights. When a representative was chosen 
by the German barbarian, he was delegated special powers and 
dared not go beyond them. The chief was followed in war by 
choice. There was no other allegiance. The rough, bold barbarian, 
the ancestor of the English people of to-day, governed himself. He 
delegated no permanent rights to any one, and was monarch of his 
conscience, person, family, and property. 

But why should man have some form of government ? Why is 
a government needed ? If needed, what force Avithin man or out- 
side of him drives him to it ? Many theories exist in answer to 
these questions, all of which have more or less truth in them, 
though perhaps no one theory possesses all the truth. The Com- 
pact Theory is that theory which claims that men agree among 
themselves to live in a state of control. The adherents of this theory 
believe that nature's laws would bind man in society if he were not, 
as an animal, too strongly non-social. Man's desires to do wrong 
are too strong for him to obey those laws. Therefore government is 
a necessity. Seeing this fact, men came together and formed a 
compact, or rules of conduct, and thus originated government. 

366 



366 INSTITUTIONAL HISTORY OF UNITED STATES. 

Statehood, by the Compact Theory, is a vohmtary surrender of all 
privileges which are claimed by one man and yet are harmful to 
some other. Contract thus becomes the first fact in human progress. 
This theory assumes that the individual originally possessed no 
reverence for authority or society ; but to save himself he agreed 
to laws which became rules of action. Thus government was 
instituted. 

Ancient society nearly always looked back to an original law- 
giver, as Israel to Moses, Crete to Minos, Athens to Solon, Sparta 
to Lycurgus, Rome to Numa, England to Alfred, and the Oriental 
States to a being named Menu. Government, by this theory, the 
Traditional Theory, is made and is not a development. 

The Divine Origin Theory looks upon government as a direct 
institution of God. God's mandates order and direct man. The 
"Divine Right" of kings is a theory based on the belief that 
God governs humanity through a divinely appointed monarch. 
Humanity suffered under this theory during five centuries of our 
own era. 

There is truth in all these theories, and yet all are false. Society 
was not formed by compact or agreement. It is a natural state. 
Individualism is not tlie main source of human development ; but 
society is. Laws and government have been much changed by 
agreement ; but agreement does not form a basis for either society 
or government. 

The ancient idea of government, that man gave it, or rather 
made it, gives too much credit to the human side of law. Govern- 
ment, successful and just, is never made outright, but is developed. 
The Divine Origin Theory is weak just where the Ancient Theory 
is strong. It forgets the human side of law and gives the divine 
too much credit. Man is not an instrument in government. He 
gives laws and develops them ; but there is also the divine element 
in government. God has laws for man's actions. He made man and 
placed him in society with faculties for governing, just as he has 
faculties for reasoning. It is man's nature to look to some authority ; 
in this sense government is God-given. Law, or government, is 
coexistent with man. Man needs laws because he is honest and 
virtuous as well as because he is dishonest and corrupt. The 
divinity within calls for government. For these reasons society 
has a divine right to be governed ; but no man has a divine right 
to govern it. That right is always human. 



GOVERNMENTS OF THE WORLD. 367 

The family was the first state, and govermnent expressed itself 
first in that divinely organized society. It was there that men 
learned to respect authority, and to see the need of it. By distant 
or feigned kinship the family relations extended to the village, to 
villages, to the state, and to several states. Kinship taught the 
world to respect authority. This respect for authority holds 
society under government. Man's subordination of self before au- 
thorized government makes states stable and governments powerful. 

Let us notice briefly the devolution of government since the 
fifth century of our era. The German barbarian knew only a 
traveling state. Their kings were kings of a people and not of a 
country, of the French and not of France, of the English and not 
of England, etc. Kingship of a country is of later origin. The 
other officers of the barbarians possessed less power than the voters ; 
for in the election the people named the privileges of the elected, 
and without the consent of the people the officer dared not add 
to those privileges. Individualism was the strongest factor among 
these people. 

Necessity drove the barbarian into local government under the 
Feudal System. The warlike disposition of the Teutonic barbarian 
made him dangerous in a society where power was delegated to no 
authority save in specified cases. There being no government to 
protect him, man did the next best thing, — gave himself and prop- 
erty to some lord, who in return agreed to give him protection. 
Thus arose the government of the lords, in which the common 
people and kings Avere of little influence. Unless the common man 
annexed himself in this way to some lord, he was constantly ex- 
posed to robbery and murder by the upper class. The common 
man lost his political rights when he was forced to surrender him- 
self to the Feudal System, but society gained because migration 
ceased. People became settled in a territory and called it home, 
their country. Without this condition there could be but little 
progress. Though the Feudal System helped to make society 
permanent, yet it was a very unnatural condition. Government 
was local rather than national. The Feudal estate was the center 
of political power. It was a government which lost sight of the 
lower class and the king, so it was very unpopular with them. But 
it was liked by the lords, who received the sole benefit. 

The next step in the Anglo-Saxon's governmental progress was 
the transition from the Feudal System to monarchy. The people 



3G8 INSTITUTIONAL HlSTOKY OF UNITED STATES. 

gained nothing in this change. From having many masters they 
now had but one, who claimed to be ordained by God. In the 
progress towards nationalism the Crusades were the most important 
factor, since they decreased the power of the nobles. The change 
to monarchy was real progress, though society under that govern- 
ment was still in an unnatural condition. Nations were realities, 
but the common people had no political power. The old Teuton, 
however, had not forgotten his rights, though he had suffered their 
loss. The centuries have brought justice to him again. Now all 
pure Teuton governments are constitutional, and the people have 
some voice in their control. Absolute inonarchy and God-ordained 
kingship have given way to limited monarchy or republicanism under 
a constitution, and to a kingship with human rights only. 

So far in this chapter it has been the purpose to discuss govern- 
ment in its theory and progress. Now we shall notice the govern- 
ments of the present, 

Africa has undergone such change since 1880, that it is diflficult 
to give its political divisions and powers. Some of the boundary 
lines are not yet fixed definitely, and changes may be made at any 
time. By 1891, the countries of Europe, by treaty, had taken pos- 
session actually or nominally of most of the African Continent. At 
the present time (1897) its provinces and islands are governed as 
follows : Liberia, Orange River Free State, and the South African 
liepublic are independent and have a republican form of government. 
Liberia is the home of the negro, and Avas founded by the Coloniza- 
tion Society of the United States in 1810-21. Only negroes can be 
citizens, and only citizens can own real estate. The people have a 
Senate and House, whose members are elected by popular ballot, and 
a president, who is elected for two years in the same Avay. Suffrage 
belongs to the males who own real estate, and only citizens can hold 
office. There are a Supreme Court and subordinate courts. Liberia 
has four ministers : the Secretary of State, Secretary of Treasury, 
Attorney-General, and Postmaster-General. Orange Iliver Free State 
secured its independence from England in 1854. It elects a presi- 
dent for five years and has the two legislative houses. South African 
liepublic, formerly Transvaal llepublic, has a government similar to 
that of Orange River Free State. It can make no treaty without 
England's consent. 

Abyssinia has a despotic government by a native ruler under the 
protectorate of Italy ; Madagascar has a like government under 



GOVERNMENTS OF THE WORLD. 369 

France ; Asliaiitee and Daliomey are indepeudent despotisms ; Mo- 
rocco is controlled by a sultan subject to Turkey ; North Zanzibar 
is ruled by a sultan subject to England ; South Zanzibar is subject 
to Germany ; Mozambique is under the rule of Portugal ; and the 
Congo Free State, under that of Belgium. The Sahara is controlled 
by England, France, and Spain ; the Soudan, by England and France ; 
and both are inhabited by tribes under tribal chiefs. Tunis, Algiers, 
Loango, and Senegambia belong to France ; Egypt, Tripoli, and Barca 
are subject to Turkey, though England controls the government of 
Egypt; Cape Colony, Sierra Leone, Gold Coast, Natal, St. Helena, 
Ascension, Mauritius, Sackatoo, the territory from Congo Free State 
to Cape Colony, West Griqualand, Zululand, and Caffraria, are all 
English territory. Ceuta, Fernando, and the Canary Islands belong 
to Spain. Cape Verde Islands, Madeira Islands, Azores, Mossamedes, 
and the territory north from it to the Congo River, belong to Portu- 
gal. Damara and Adaraawa are Germany's, and Somali is Italy's. 
The oldest of these colonies have representative colonial government. 
Laws must be accepted by the home government and also by the 
government of the colony. The more savage colonies are controlled 
absolutely by the home government. 

There are no republics in Asia. It has several kingdoms more 
or less despotic, such as Corea, the Malacca states, Bootan, Nepaul, 
Siam, and Anam. All these, except Corea, Bootan, and Nepaul, are 
a part of Indo-China, and all are despotic governments. China is 
an absolute empire. Japan is a constitutional empire, though the 
monarch's poAver is not greatly limited. It has two legislative 
houses, — a House of Peers and House of Representatives. Together 
they are called the Imperial Diet. The former is composed of the 
imperial family, nobility, and such others as the Emperor may ap- 
point ; the members of the latter are elected by the people. A law 
is not in force until the Diet accepts it, and the constitution cannot 
be changed except by the consent of that body. Japan has a Judi- 
cial Department. The present constitution was given by the Em- 
peror in 1889. 

Persia is a despotic government. Turkestan is controlled by 
native chiefs under Russia. Turkey in Asia is controlled by pachas 
or rulers in its provinces, — Asia Minor, Syria, Armenia, and Meso- 
potamia. They include the great ancient monarchies, — Chaldea, 
Assyria, and Babylonia and also the Holy Land. Arabia consists of 
independent states governed absolutely by sultans. Southern Arabia 
2b 



370 INSTITUTIONAL HISTORY OF UNITED STATES. 

lias tribal government, as lias Afghanistan and Beloocliistan, though 
Cabul is occupied by the English. Bokhara, Khiva, Siberia, Soon- 
garia, and Trans-Caucasia are subject to Russia. India belongs to 
England and is ruled by a governor-general. England controls Hin- 
dustan, Burmah, Ceylon, Hong Kong, Aden, Singapore, and Malacca, 
Lower Cochin China belongs to France. 

The Hawaiian Islands have a republican form of. government. 
Java, South Borneo, Sumatra, Celebes, Moluccas, Spice Islands, and 
iSTew Guinea belong to Holland. North Borneo, Australia, Tasmania, 
the Fiji Islands, and New Zealand belong to England. Philippine, 
Ladrone, and the Caroline Islands are colonies of Spain. New Cale- 
donia and the Society Islands belong to France. New Guinea 
belongs to England, France, and Holland. Australia has five divi- 
sions, over each of which is a governor ajipointed by the Crown of 
England ; each division has a legislative body elected by the people. 
Holland controls her territory in Oceanica by a governor-general 
and native chiefs ; England, hers by an appointed governor and rep- 
resentatives elected by the people ; France and Spain govern their 
colonies in Australia absolutely. 

There are four republics in Europe, — San Marino, Andorra, 
Switzerland, and France. San Marino, in Italy, is the oldest repub- 
lic in the world. It has had the favor of popes and kings to such a 
degree, that through the constant strife and change of fourteen cen- 
turies it has preserved its rights. It is governed by a council of 
sixty men, from whom are chosen twelve executive officers. The 
council is elected by the people. Andorra, situated between France 
and Spain, is under the control of France, but governs itself. 

Switzerland contains 22 cantons united in the Swiss Confed- 
eration. There are two councils, — the National and Council of 
State. The former consists of one representative for every 20,000 
people, though each canton must have at least one reiu-esentative 
even if it does not have the required population. This house is 
elected by the people of the cantons for three years. The Council 
of State consists of two members from each canton. The canton 
legislatures elect the members of this council and also pay them. 
If 30,000 voters or eight cantons demand, all laws must be placed 
before the people to be acted upon. The Executive Department con- 
sists of seven members, who are chosen by the councils for three years. 
From these seven men the councils choose one each year to be presi- 
dent of the Confederation. Switzerland hasacomplete judicial system. 



GOVERNMENTS OF THE WORLD. 371 

The government of France consists of a Senate of 300 mem- 
bers and a Chamber of Deputies, having one member for every 
100,000 persons. Two hundred twenty-five members of tlie Senate 
are chosen for nine years by the departments and colonies, and 
75 are chosen by the National Assembly for life. The members 
of the Chamber of Deputies are elected by popular vote for four 
years. The Chamber and Senate in joint session elect a presi- 
dent of France, to serve seven years. France is divided into 87 
departments corresponding to our states. They are subdivided 
into 362 arrondissements ; they, into 2865 cantons; and they, into 
about 36,000 communes. The departments elect their legislative 
bodies, and the president appoints the executive officers for each 
department. 

Belgium, Denmark, England including Ireland and Scotland, 
Italy, Holland, Portugal, Spain, Korway and Sweden, Greece, Ser- 
via, and Roumania form the kingdoms of Europe. Montenegro is a 
principality ; and Luxemburg, an independent grand duchy. 

The executive officer of Belgium is a king, who inherits his posi- 
tion in a direct male descent ; if there is no heir, the king, with the 
consent of the chambers, may appoint one. The Legislative branch 
consists of a Senate and Chamber of Representatives. The Senate 
consists of 76 members elected by the people and 26 elected by 
the Provincial Councils. The senators serve eight years, and the 
terms of one-half expire every four years. Those chosen by the 
Councils are exempted from property qualifications, but the others 
must have an income of not less than 12,000 francs or must pay 
taxes equal to a sum not less than 1200 francs. Voting for sena- 
tors may be restricted to male citizens thirty years old or more ; 
suffrage, however, is conferred on all males not less than twenty- 
five years old. The Chamber of Representatives has one rep- 
resentative for every 40,000 population. The members are elected 
for four years by a popular vote, and the terms of one-half expire 
every two years. 

Belgium has a very remarkable suffrage plan. It is called the 
Plural Suffrage System, and was adopted in 1893. Every married 
man or widower, thirty-five years of age or more, having legitimate 
issue and paying at least five francs' house tax per year, has one vote 
besides the one by virtue of his citizenship and age. Any citizen 
twenty-five years old or more and owning real estate worth at least 
2000 francs, or having an income not less than 100 francs, has two 



372 INSTITUTIONAL HISTOKY OF UNITED STATES. 

votes. Any citizen more than twenty-five years old and holding a 
diploma showing a superior education, has three votes. No one can 
have more than three votes. 

Denmark's executive officer is a king, who has an absolute veto 
on legislation. The kingdom has seven ministers of state, and its 
Legislative branch, which meets each year, is called the lligsdag. 
It consists of two branches, — the Landsting and Folketing. The 
former consists of 66 members. Twelve are chosen by the Crown 
for life ; Copenhagen chooses seven, and Faro chooses one. The 
remaining 46 are elected by ten electoral districts, to serve eight 
years. The members of the lower house are elected for three 
years by ])opular suffrage. There are now 102 members in this 
house. The right of suffrage belongs to male citizens thirty years 
old or more. 

England has a constitutional government whose monarch is a 
king or queen. The Legislative branch consists of a House of 
Commons and House of Lords. The members of the former are 
elected by the people. The right of suffrage belongs to those male 
citizens, not less than twenty-one years old, who pay ten pounds 
rent annually or have an income of that auiount. A position in the 
House of Lords is inherited by the English members. The term of 
office in that house is for life, except for the members from Ireland 
and Scotland. Those two countries are governed by Parliament, 
though Ireland has a Privy Council. The Scottish members in the 
House of Lords are elected by the Scotch peers, and the Irish mem- 
bers are elected by the Irish peers. 

The monarch of England has no veto power and must choose a 
prime minister from the party having the majority in Parliament. 
The prime minister nominates the other cabinet officers, of whom 
there are from 11 to 16. The Crown chooses the cabinet from 
the nominations of the prime minister. The cabinet is the Execu- 
tive Department. Members of the House of Commons hold office 
for seven years unless forced to resign. They must resign when 
the prominent party is defeated in Parliament. The question 
at issue then goes to the people. They hold an election in which 
members of the lower house are elected either to pass the proposed 
measure or reject it. No member of the lower house of Parliament 
has served continuously for seven years without a reelectiou, since 
the last century. Questions of politics in England come before the 
people for solution, and })recedent and public opinion govern. 



GOVERNMENTS OF THE WORLD. 373 

There is no written constitution. Tlie House of Commons is the 
strong force in government. 

Italy is a constitutional monarchy. She has a king, Avho is 
aided by the chiefs of nine departments of state. There are a 
Senate and Chamber of Kepresentatives ; the members of the latter 
are elected by popular suffrage ; those of the former are appointed 
for life by the Crown and the provinces. The provinces and com- 
munes elect their local officers, but the king appoints the governor. 

Holland has a constitutional government. The king is heredi- 
tary in the House of Orange. He is assisted by eight Councils of 
State. The States-General consists of two chambers. The right of 
suffrage belongs to those male citizens who pay at least ten guilders 
tax. Private soldiers and non-commissioned officers are excluded 
from voting. The upper chamber consists of 50 members, who are 
elected by the provinces. The lower house is made up of 100 
members, who are elected by the voters. 

Portugal is a limited monarchy. The king is the executive, 
aided by his cabinet. The Legislative branch is made up of two 
houses, — the House of Peers and House of Commons. The mem- 
bers of the former are appointed by the Crown for life, and those of 
the latter are elected by the popular vote. Suffrage in Portugal is 
based on an income of $100 per year. 

Spain has a government similar to that of Portugal. The Legis- 
lative body is called the Cortes. The Senate is composed of sons of 
the king, nobles having an income of 60,000 pesetos or about $12,000 
yearly, captains-general of the army, admirals of the navy, patri- 
archs of the Indies, and archbishops. These hold their position in 
the Senate by virtue of their rank. There are also 100 senators, 
named by the Crown for life, and 150 are elected by the heavy tax- 
payers and corporations. The lower hovise consists of members 
elected by the voters for five years. There is one representative 
for every 50,000 people. The cabiuet of Spain is really the Execu- 
tive Department. The CroAvn has no veto powers. The cabinet 
ministers are members of the Cortes. 

Norway and Sweden were united in 1814. The union does not 
interfere with the separate government of the two states. It is of 
the Crown only, and not of the legislatures. Each country has a 
legislature composed of two houses, which have complete legisla- 
tive control over their individual country. The king is a hereditary 
officer ; but if there is no successor in the direct male line, the legis- 



374 INSTITUTIONAL HISTORY OF UNITED STATES. 

latures of the two countries in joint session may choose one. The 
king must reside alternately in each country, and when in one must 
appoint a governor for the other. Each country has a Council of 
State, with Avhich the king must advise. 

The Legislative branch of Norway is called a Storthing, of which 
there are two houses, — the Lagthing and Odelsthing. Office holders, 
property holders not less than twenty-five years old, and male citi- 
zens may vote. Every 50 eligible inhabitants choose an elector. 
These several electors meet and choose from any eligible class one- 
fourth as many members for the Storthing as there are electors. 
This is the manner of electing the legislature in cities. In the 
country districts each district of 100 eligible inhabitants chooses 
one elector ; of 200 to 300, three electors, etc. These electors must 
choose one-tenth as many members for the Storthing as there are 
electors. All the members serve for three years. 

Sweden's legislature is called a Diet, which is composed of two 
chambers having equal authority. The members of the upper house 
are elected for nine years by the provincial assemblies and municipal 
councilmen. These members must be thirty-five years old or more, 
and must own property. The lower chamber consists of members 
elected by the towns and rural districts, one for every 10,000 popu- 
lation in towns, and one for every 40,000 population in the country. 
All male citizens, and persons twenty-one years old or more and 
owning property, may vote. The members of the Diet serve for 
three years. The election of the lower house is direct or indirect as 
the majority of the people may decide, 

Greece has a hereditary king and one legislative house, whose 
members serve four years and are elected by the male citizens over 
twenty-one years of age. The king in Greece has more authority 
than kings in limited monarchies usually have now. He is not 
responsible to any authority, can appoint and dismiss officers, and 
can prorogue or dissolve the legislature. 

Servia, Koumania, and Montenegro secured their independence 
from Turkey in 1878. They are limited monarchies, governed as 
other kingdoms of Europe. 

Germany is a constitutional empire, consisting of twenty-six 
states. The King of Prussia is Emperor of Germany by hereditary 
right. There are two legislative houses. The Bundesrath consists 
of about sixty members elected by the state legislatures for each 
legislative session. The Reichstag is the lower house, and its 



GOVERNMENTS OF THE WORLD. 375 

members are elected by popular suffrage. Every man who is a 
German and is not less than twenty-one years old may vote. Each 
state has its own government, Avhich is very similar to the state 
governments of United States. 

Russia is an absolute monarchy. The Czar embraces in himself 
the Legislative, Judicial, and Executive departments of government. 
The throne is inherited through either the male or female line. The 
Czar appoints four Councils of State, — Council of the Empire, Di- 
recting Senate, Holy Synod, and Council of Ministers. The last 
includes eleven Departments, — Imperial House, Foreign Affairs, 
War, ISTavy, Interior, Public Instruction, Finance, Justice, Imperial 
Domains, Public Work and Railway, and General Comptrol. All 
these secure their power from the Czar, and are answerable to him 
alone. 

Austria-Hungary is a political union of two equal powers, over 
which is the Austrian Emperor, who is also king of Hungary. 
Each nation has its own constitution and government, but in foreign 
questions and questions concerning the army, the nations have 
common interests. To look after these common interests equal 
committees, called the Supreme Imperial Assembly, are appointed 
annually from and by each the Austrian and Hungarian parliaments. 
Each committee is responsible to its own parliament, and is com- 
posed of sixty delegates, twenty being taken from the upper house 
and forty from the lower house. The two parts of the Assembly 
meet separately, but count their votes collectively. The meetings 
are annual, and alternate between the countries. Austria's govern- 
ment is a limited monarchy, with two legislative houses, the members 
of one being appointed by the Emperor, and those of the other, the 
lower, being elected by the people under a small property qualifica- 
tion. Hungary's government is similar to Austria's. They form a 
dual monarchy, with independent governments save in the Supreme 
Imperial Assembly and the Emperor. 

Turkey was formed into a constitutional monarchy in 1876, with 
two houses of Parliament, — the Senate and Chamber of Deputies. 
The members of the former were to be appointed by the Sultan for 
life, and those of the latter to be elected by popular vote, one deputy 
for every 150,000 people. The Sultan soon destroyed the constitu- 
tion, however, and the government is now an absolute monarchy. 
Turkey has suffered much from bad government. The ruler usually 
inherits the throne, but sometimes he has been appointed by the army. 



376 INSTITUTIONAL HISTORY OF UNITED STATES. 

Gibraltar and Malta are English colonies; Corsica is French; and 
the Balearic Isles, Spanish. 

Republicanism is the favorite form of government on the Western 
Continent, and its best representation is the government of United 
States. Since this book deals almost wholly with that country, 
nothing more need be said about it in this iilace. 

Mexico is a republic. It belonged to Spain until 1821, when it 
became independent. Its chief executive is a president, elected as 
the president of the United States is. He must be at least thirty- 
five years old, not a member of any ecclesiastical order, a citizen by 
birth, and a resident when elected. He is elected for four years, 
and has a cabinet, whose members must be natural-born citizens, at 
least twenty-five years old. The Judicial Department is vested in a 
Supreme, District, and Circuit courts. There are eleven supreme 
judges, who are elected indirectly by the people for six years. A 
Mexican eighteen years old is a citizen if married; if not married, 
he must be at least twenty-one years old to be a citizen. Only 
Mexicans can be citizens of Mexico. 

The Legislative Department is vested in a Congress composed of 
two houses, — the House of Deputies and the Senate. The members 
of the former house are elected for two years, and an alternate is 
elected for each deputy. Xne election is indirect, the method being 
regulated by Congress. The election of senators is also indirect, the 
state legislatures electing them in a manner prescribed by law for 
four years. A senator must be at least thirty years old. Mexico 
has 27 states. Lower California, a territory, and the Capital District. 
There are two senators for each state, and a representative for every 
40,000 population. 

Argentine Republic has an Executive Department, two Legis- 
lative branches, and a Supreme Court. The representatives and 
senators are elected in the same way as those of the United States ; 
the former hold office for four years, and the latter for nine years. 
The president is elected for six years by an electoral college. The 
republic adopted a constitution in 1853 very nearly like that of the 
United States. 

Upper Peru was separated from Peru in 1825, and called Bolivia 
in honor of the great liberator of South America, Boliver. He gave 
Bolivia a constitution in 1826, which was largely military, and did 
not provide for a successful form of government. It has been modi- 
fied from time to time, mitil now l^olivia elects her president for 



GOVERNMENTS OF THE WORLD. 377 

four years by direct vote, and he appoints the vice-president and 
ministers. The two houses of Congress are elected by the direct 
vote of the people. 

Chili elects her president for five years by electors chosen by the 
people. The senators and representatives are elected by the people 
directly, the former for six years and the latter for three years. 
Voters must be taxpayers, and must be able to read and write. 
The president appoints the governors for the different districts. 

The present constitution of Colombia was adopted in 1886. The 
president is elected for six years by the indirect vote of the people. 
The senators, three for each state, are elected by the state legisla- 
tures. The representatives are elected by popular suffrage. There 
is a condition of unrest in this republic, as there is in all the South 
American states. Though the constitution declares a man can be 
elected but once to the presidency, Dr. ISTunez has been elected four 
times. He does not fill the office himself, but leaves the burdens of 
state to the vice-president. 

Paraguay has a president elected to serve six years. The Leg- 
islative Department consists of two houses. The constitution is 
modeled after that of Argentine Confederation. 

Peru's constitution also takes the Argentine constitution as a 
model. The states elect the senators, and the representatives are 
elected by an electoral college. The president is elected for five 
years by the people. 

Uruguay is a republic, and has a president who is elected for four 
years. The senators are elected for four years ; and the representa- 
tives, for three years. Frequent political revolutions disturb the 
government. 

Venezuela's government is modeled in every respect after that 
of the United States. Ecuador is much the same except her presi- 
dent serves for six years ; her senators, for nine years ; and repre- 
sentatives, for six years. Guatemala elects her president for four 
years. The people elect the lower house, and it elects the upper 
house. The members of both hold office for four years. Costa Eica 
elects her president for four years and has but one legislative house, 
elected for four years. San Salvador elects her president for four 
years, and has two legislative houses, elected for two years. Hon- 
duras, Nicaragua, Hayti, and Santo Domingo are republics fashioned 
after the United States. 

Brazil has organized the most recent government on the Western 



378 INSTITUTIONAL HISTORY OF UNITED STATES. 

Continent. Previous to 1890 it Avas an empire. The constitution 
was adopted February 24, 1891. The Legislative Department con- 
sists of two liouses, — the Chamber of Dejjuties and the Senate. 
The members of the former are elected by the people for three 
years. The Senate is composed of three senators from each state, 
who are elected for nine years by the people. The president is 
elected for four years by a direct vote of the people. The Judicial 
Department is like that of the United States. 

Denmark owns Greenland and Iceland. Greenland is controlled 
absolutely by Danish directors. Iceland was given the privilege of 
controlling itself in 1874 under Denmark's protection. 

The Dominion of Canada is governed by a governor-general and 
Senate appointed by the English Crown, and by a House of Repre- 
sentatives whose members are elected by the people. Newfoundland 
includes Labrador, and has the same kind of government as Canada. 
The provinces of Canada are managed by a lieutenant-governor 
appointed by the governor-general, and by a legislative branch 
elected by the people. Ontario has one legislative house. Quebec 
has two houses ; the Senate is appointed by the governor-general, 
and the House is elected by the people. Nova Scotia and New 
Brunswick have one legislative house each, elected by the people, 
as have British Columbia, Manitoba, and Prince Edward Island. 
The Northwest Territory is ruled by a lieutenant-governor ap- 
pointed by the governor-general. 

British, French, and Dutch Guiana are respectively under the 
control of England, France, and Holland. Each has a council elected 
by the people and a governor appointed by the home government. 
British Honduras is under English rule. The Crown appoints a 
governor, and the people elect a representative house. Cuba is 
under the absolute rule of Spain, which appoints a governor and an 
administrative council. Porto Pico belongs to Spain, and is gov- 
erned like Cuba. Jamaica belongs to England. Her governor is 
appointed by the Crown, and a Legislative Council is elected by 
the people. Santa Cruz and St. Thomas belong to Denmark. Guade- 
loupe and Martinique belong to France. Both have a voice in their 
local affairs. The other islands of the Lesser Antilles, the Bahamas, 
and the Bermudas belong to England. The two latter have a repre- 
sentative house elected by the people, and a governor appointed by 
the Crown. 



INDEX. 



Al)yssinia, 368. 

Abolition, conveution, 124; slavery, 201 ; 
party, 2()4. 

Accounts, committee of, 124. 

Academy, Militarj', 127, 128 ; Naval, 129 ; 
King William's, 214; Willianistown, 
224; Frcedman's Aid Society, 228. 

Act, Treasury, 159; Sherman, 171. 

Actor, 279. 

Adolplms, Gustavus, 69. 

Adams, John, resolution for indepen- 
dence, 86; appointed Federal judges, 
109, 2()3; veto, 120; nominated for 
President, 123; in the Cabinet, 131; 
wrote for the Boston Gazette, 24() ; 
leader of Federal party, 259; elected 
Vice-President, 2(i2 : elected President, 
and character of administration, 263; 
had franking privilege, 303. 

Adams, Samuel, labor tor independence, 
83 ; influence, 99. 

Adams, Abigail, 86. 

Adams, J. Q., use of veto, 120; elected 
President, 122 ; nominated for Presi- 
dent, 124; for protection, 141; Smith- 
sonian Institute, 226; leader of Whigs, 
264. 

Adjutant, 128. 

Adjutant-General of the War Depart- 
ment, 127 ; of Ohio, 134 ; of Indiana, 358. 

Ad valorem, 140, 147. 

Advertisements, to sell slaves, 195; 
amusement, 281. 

Adamawa, 369. 

Aden, 370. 

Ada Normal College, 229. 

Aeroplane, 336. 

Esthetics, 218. 

.^s, 153. 

Africa, slaves and company, 189, 210; 
government, 368 seq. 

Afghanistan, 370. 

Agriculture, committee, 120; Secretary 
of, 126; Department of, 129; in the 
colonies, 140, 306; Smithsonian Insti- 
tute, 226; Bureau of, 227. 

Agents, 256. 



Alfred the Great, 366. 

Alderman, 136. 

Ale, 150. 

Alloy, silver dollar, 167, 168 ; gold dollar, 
167, 168. 

Alabama, seceded, 14, 207; laws against 
teaching the negro, 208 ; school fund, 
223, 224 ; readmitted, 267. 

Algonquins, tribes of, 33; great spirit 
of, 36 : habits, 40 ; decline, 53 ; hate 
towards Iroquois, 54. 

Albany, Congress called at, 79 ; Dutch 
habits, 275 ; roads, 341. 

Allen County, lud., 357. 

Algiers, 369. 

Alexander II., 211 ; VI., 314. 

Algebra, 213, 222, 229. 

Almanac, 215. 

Alaska, 225, 291. 

Alien Law, 263. 

America, Gibraltar of, 10 ; discovery of, 
22, 23; claims, 23; Auti-slave Society 
of, 204 ; University of, 226 ; Missionary 
Association, 227; emigration to, 230; 
Weekly Mercnrtj of, 244; Daily Ad- 
vertiser, 2\1 ; party, 265; Nationalists, 
267; remarks of Edinhurgh Review, 
279; Philosophical Society of, .321. 

Amendment, Eleventh, 108; Thirteenth, 
Fourteenth, and Fifteenth, 208. 

Ambassadors, 125, 254 seq. 

Amusements, 281. 

Annapolis, convention, 89, 91; King's 
Academy, 214 ; newspapers, 245. 

Anti-Masons, 124, 264. 

Anti-Nebraska, 265. 

Anti-Federalists, formation, 97 ; repealed 
Federal judge law, 105 ; opposed na- 
tional bank, 178; principles, 259; 
change name, 200. 

Anderson, Major, 15. 

Antietam, 19. 

Andartes, 55. 

Andros, 61, 65. 

Ancients, 187. 

Anglo-Saxons, 367. 

Anam, 369. 



379 



380 



INDEX. 



Andorra, 370. 

Antilles, 378. 

Appointments of foreign ministers, 255 ; 
consuls, 256; vice-consuls, 257 ; deputy- 
consuls, 257 ; agents, 257. 

Apparel, 271. 

Apothecary, 28G. 

Apportionment, of senators and repre- 
sentatives in Indiana, 353; of senators 
and representatives in Ohio, 302; of 
Illinois, 363 spq. 

Appellate jurisdiction, 107, 108; courts, 
35(). 

Appropriation, 120. 

Appomattox, 20, 18'J. 

Aryans, 365. 

Armenia, 33, 369. 

Arahia, 36!i. 

Argentine Repuhlic, 376. 

Arkansas, seceded, 15, 207 ; woman suf- 
frage in, 134 seq. ; teaching of negroes, 
208; school fund, 224; readmitted, 267. 

Army, Union, 14 seq. ; Coufederate, 14 
seq. 

ArchfBology, 28. 

Architecture. 32, 220, 278. 

Articles of Confederation, how made? 
11; insutificient, 13; formed, 8(} seq.; 
power, 87; ratified, 87 seq.; govern- 
ment under, 88; states, 88; taxation, 
88; Congress, 88; weakness, 89, 91, 113. 

Articles of Association, 76, 81. 

Arizona, 134, 291. 

Art, 213, 215, 278. 

Arkwright, 295 seq. 

Armstrong, 334. 

Arithmetic, 218, 222. 

Asylum, 273 seq. 

Astronomers, 279, 327. 

Assembly, Colonial, 10, 79, 80, 82, 85, 244 ; 
of Maryland, ()7; of Connecticut, ()7, 
68;. of Delaware, ()9; of Pennsylvania, 
72; of Virginia, 281 ; of Indiana, 352. 

Astoria, 292. 

Astor, 292. 

A. si a, 248, 369 seq. 

Assizes, 231. 

Associate Church, 241. 

Associate Reformed Church, 241. 

Associate Presbyterian Church, 241. 

Assistant secretary, 126. 

Assistant postmaster-general, 130. 

Assossane, 43. 

Association of Montreal, 50. 

Associate Justice, 106. 

.\ssessors, 360 seq. 

Ashantee, 369. 



Ascension, ;i69. 

Asia Minor, 369. 

Assyria, 309. 

Athens, 187, 366. 

Attucks, 199. 

Ataentsic, 37. 

Attorneys, of Virginia, 59 seq. ; of New 
England, 63. 

Attorney-(ieneral, duty of, 107, 130; be- 
come President, 122; Cabinet, 125; de- 
partment and salary, 130 ; refused to 
enforce William and Mary's College 
charter, 213; examine patents, 297; of 
Indiana, 359 ; states, .362 ; of Liberia, 368. 

Atonement, 230, 241. 

Atlanta Constitution, 250. 

Australia, 137, 332, 370. 

Automatic carriage, 336. 

Auditor, 12(), 353, 359. 

Austria-Hungary, 375 seq. 

Austria, 375 seq. 

Azores, 369. 

Aztecs, 27, 28. 

Baltimore, academy for colored girls, 
209 ; high schools, 227 ; Sun, 250 ; actor, 
279; mail, 300; telegraph line, 326; and 
Ohio Railroad, 340. 

Baltimore, Lord, strife with Clayborne, 
67 ; founded a colony, 236. 

Baltic and North Sea Canal, 344. 

Babylon, 351. 

Bank, committee, 120; tax on circulation, 
150; Rhode Island, 157; Mas.sachusetts, 
176; Coleman's scheme, 176; land 
bank, 176; New Hampshire, 176; 
specie bank, 170; of North America, 
147, 177 seq. ; National Bank, 178, ISO, 
261 ; charter defeated, 179; state banks, 
180 seq. ; specie redemption, 181 ; Jack- 
son's policy, 182; safety fund system, 
182 seq.; Suffolk system, 183; Ohio, 
183; free banking, 183; Indiana, 183 
seq. ; Illinois, 183 seq. ; present bank- 
ing system, 185 seq. ; clearing house, 
180. 

Barca, 369. 

Balearic Isles, 376. 

Bahama, 378. 

Barnburners, 265. 

Bankrupt law, 271. 

Barbecue, 281 seq. 

Baker, George C, 323. 

Battery, 33(5. 

Baptists, 204, 228, 2.32 seq. 

Barham, John, 215. 

Bancroft, George, 2(i, 129, 2;5(;, 238. 



INDEX. 



381 



Banner, 249. 

Ballot, 132. 

Bar iron, 142. 

Barbary states, 149. 

Balls, musket, 153. 

Barley, 153. 

Barter, 168. 

Bankers, 178, 180. 

Baptizing, 193 seq. 

Bar, 63. 

Bell, inventor, 266, 333 seq. 

Beverly, 213, 272. 

Belting, 281. 

Behring, 292, 348. 

Berlin Decree, 140, 297 seq. 

Belknap, W. W., 114; Dr., 325. 

Bentley, 268. 

Bessemer, 337. 

Berkeley, 71, 212. 

Bennett, 253. 

Belgium, 369 seg. 

Beloochistan, 370. 

Bermuda, 378. 

Beer, 150. 

Beans, 34, 153. 

Beaver, skin of, 153. 

Bed, 200. 

Beauregard, General, 16, 18. 

Bills, revenue, 114 seq. ; Presidential 
succession, 122; tariff of 1789, 140; 
tariff of 1816, 140 seq., 263; tariff of 
1820, 1821, 1822, 1824, 141 ; tariff of 1827, 
141 ; of abominations, 141 seq. ; tariff 
of 1830, 1832, and 1833, 142, 264 ; tariff 
of 1842, 142 ; tariff, 1846, 143 ; tariff of 
1857, 143; tariffs of the war, 143 seq. ; 
tariff of 1867, of 1872, 144; tariff of 
1883, 1884, 1886, 1887, 1888, 145 ; McKin- 
ley Bill, 145 seq.; Wilson Bill, 146; 
internal tax bills, 146 seq.; of credit, 
154 seq. ; coinage, 171 ; bank, 176 seq. ; 
slavery, 205 seq. ; Omnibus Bill, 265; 
lottery bills, 312; origination, 354. 

Bible, qualification for voting in Dela- 
ware, 132; society, 203; studied in 
Harvard, 218 ; England sent, 231 ; pun- 
ishment for disbelieving, 2.34 ; in Sun- 
day-schools, 242; National Society, 
243; Public Ledger of Philadelphia, 
250; could not print it in the colonies, 
295; teaching witchcraft, 313 seq. 
Bit, 166. 

Bimetalism, 172. 

Bishop, 213, 2.32 seq. ; Bridget, 316. 

Bicycle, 336, .347. 

Blockade Decree, 16. 

Blount, William, 114. 



Blaine, James G., 125, 131. 
Black slaves, 191, 267. 
Blair, Rev., 213, "Sermons," 214, 272. 
Blackstoue, 215. 
Blackbeard, 317. 

Boston, Massacre of, 10; Tea Party, 10; 
Evacuation of, 11 ; lead in opposing 
Stamp Act, 78 ; Suffolk banking, 159, 
182 ; value of money in, 167 ; slave port, 
200 ; first newspaper in America, 220 ; 
schools, 223, 227 ; newspapers, 244 seq. ; 
social life, 227 ; amusements, 285 ; 
market day, 305 ; stages, 339 ; travel, 
340. 

Boundary lines, 14, 288 seq. 

Bowling Green, 16, 249. 

Board, of trade and plantation, 78-80; 
of customs, 80; of education, 225, 358 
seq.; of review, 360; of trustees, 361 
seq. ; of police, 361. 

Bonds, 149, 152, 160 seq., 172, 180 seq.; 
servants, 306, 317. 

Boots, 150. 

Bolivia, 170, 376. 

Botany, 215, 218. 

Boys, 222, 226, 227 ; reform school, 359. 

Bolingbroke, 233. 

Boylston, Dr., 287. 

Books, 302 seg., 314, 335. 

Boat, 321 seq. 

Bootan, 369. 

Bokhara, 370. 

Boliver, 376. 

Borneo, 370. 

Brandywine, 12. 

Bragg, General, 18, 19. 

Brigadier-general, 128. 

Bra'zil, 169, 190, 210, 377 seq. 

Brown, John, 206. 

Brown, Sir Thomas, 313 seq. 

Brown College, 220, 221, 224. 

Brooklyn, 216, 333, 350. 

Britain, 246. 

Breckeni-idge, 266. 

Bryan, William J., 268 seq. 

Brief Rule in Smallpox, 287. 

Bridges, 340 seq. 

Brussels, .343. 

Brott Rapid Transit System, 348. 

British Columbia, 378. 

British Guiana, 378. 

British Honduras, 378. 

Bunker Hill, 11, 85. 

Burgoyne, 11, 12, 87. 

Buchanan, 14, 206, 265. 

Bull Run, 16, 19. 

Buell, General, 17. 



382 



INDEX. 



Bunisides, General, 19. 

Burke, 84. 

Butler, General, 92. 

Burr, Aaron, 124. 

Bureau, of Statistics, 120; of Mint, 126; 
of Engraving and Printing, 12(5 ; of 
Military Justice, 127; of Yards and 
Docks, 128; of Equipment and Recruit- 
ing, 128; of Navigation, 128; of Ord- 
nance, 128 ; of Medicine and Surgery, 
128; of Provisions and Clotliing, 128; 
of Construction and Repair, 128; of 
Education, 225; of Agriculture, 227. 

Building, 1!)1, 297. 

Burton, Mary, Ht4. 

Burials, 231, 277. 

Bull-baiting, 284. 

Buckner, Simon, 249, 268. 

Burmah, .';')70. 

Bundesrath, ."74. 

Byrd, Rev., 213, 272. 

Catholics, 9, 73, 215, 231 seq. 

Camden, 13; and Asbury Railroad, 346. 

Cathay, 22. 

Calendar, stone in Mexico, 28. 

Cayugas, .35. 

Carteret, 71. 

Candles, 150. 

Case in court, 111. 

Cabinet, succeed to presidency, 122; ad- 
visory branch of Executive Depart- 
ment, 125 ; board of trustees for 
Smithsonian Institute, 226; ^Vashing- 
ton's, 259 ; Post-office Department, 301. 

Candidates, 123. 

Cadets, West Point, 127 seq. ; naval, 129. 

Calhoun, 142, 2G4. 

Cattle, 1.".3. 

Canada, soldiers from, 1.54 ; terminus of 
Underground Railroad, 204 ; postage 
to, from United States, 304; Chili to 
Canada by rail, 304; government, 378. 

Carolina, 167, 198, 272. 

California, gold fields of, 169; bank note, 
185 ; admission as a state, 205 ; school 
fund, 224; secured by United States, 
291. 

Capital, 176 seq., 191, 261, 311. 

Cat-o'-nine-tails, 200. 

Camwood, 204. 

Calvin, John, 2.30 seq., 325. 

Calvinism, 230, 241. 

Cards, playing, 232, 281. 

Calvert, 23(5. 

Campbellites, 240. 

Carpet-bag rule, 2(57, 305, 310, 311. 



Carriages, 270. 

Cavalier, 273, 275, 279. 

Cat Island, 287. 

Canals, 321 seq., 341, 342 seq. 

Cachuchu, .328. 

Caoutchouc, 328. 

Cartridges, 333 seq. 

Car, 336 seq. 

Cataract Construction Company, 337. 

Cape Colony, 369. 

Catfraria, mi 

Canary Island, 369. 

Cape Verde Island, 369. 

Cabul, 370. 

Caroline Islands, 370. 

Canton, 370. 

Cable, 349. 

Cantilever bridges, 350. 

Cairo, .350. 

Cascade tunnel, 351. 

Captain, 128, l.J8. 

Certificates, for loans, 147, 148 ; tobacco, 
153; gold and silver, 163; currency, 
1()3 ; gold coin exchanged for, 172 ; sil- 
ver exchanged for, 172. 

Census, 129. 

Cent, 167, 173 seq. 

Central .\merica, 170. 206. 

Central Tennessee College, 227. 

Central Normal College, 229. 

Central states, 306. 

Ceuta, 369. 

Ceylon, 370. 

Celebes, 370. 

Central Pacific Railroad, 347. 

Charleston, resisted tea tax, 10 ; value of 
a shilling, 16' newspapers, 245 ; social 
center, 283; .;ames Rumsey of, 323. 

Chad's Ford, 12. 

Chattanooga, 18, 19, 249. 

Chichimecs, 27. 

Cholula, Pyramid of, 28. 

Christmas, 34. 

Champlain,40, .'■)2. 

Charter, colonies, 57; Virginia, 57 .sp(7. ; 
Plymouth, 60; New York, 65; Mary- 
land, ()(>; Connecticut, 68: of confed- 
eration revoked, 77; National Bank's, 
159, 178 seq. ; Bank of North Amer- 
ica's, 177. 

Chilli.'othc, 247. 

Christians, 79, 193. 

Church members, citizenship in New 
England, 7(i; voters in Massachusetts, 
132 ; Church of England, 231. 

Charles II., 77: V., 189,215. 

Clialhani. 84. 



INDEX. 



383 



Checks, 150. 

Chief-Justice, position, 106; salary, 106; 
number aud names, 112 ; trustee of 
Smithsonian Institute, 226 ; John Jay, 
259 ; of state courts, 356 seq. 

Chief of engineers, 127. 

Chase, Sahnon P., 112, 159 seq. 

Chase, Samuel, 114. 

Chaplain, 128. 

Chequin, 167. 

Chili, 170, 348, 376. 

Christianity, 188. 

Children, 191, 202, 225. 

Chains, 200. 

Chronicle, 247, 248, 249. 

Church, missionary work in Liberia, 203 ; 
college, 203; in America, 231 seq. ; dif- 
ferent churches in United States, 240 
seq. 

Channing, 206. 

Chancellor, 213. 

Childs, George W., 2.50. 

Chaldea, 218. 

Chicago, high school, 227 ; newspapers 
of, 248; Democratic convention of 
1896, 268; George C. Baker of, 323; 
canal, 343; railroad, 346; elevated 
roads of, 349. 

Churching, 231. 

Charges d'affaires, 254. 

China, 255, 276, 343, 369. 

Chaises, 270. 

Chemists, 279. 

Chivalry, 281. 

Chloroform, 286. 

Chesapeake, 344, 348. 

Charities, 361. 

Chamber of Deputies, 371. 

Civil War, great fact, 14; story, 15, 16; 
paper money, 160 seq. ; Confederate 
currency, 162 ; slavery, 204, 207 ; laws 
and slavery since, 210 ; political par- 
ties, 2()6 ; newspaper, 334 ; effect on 
railroad, 347. 

Cipangu, 22. 

Citizens, in Virginia, 57 seq. ; Massa- 
chusetts, 60 seq.; Rhode Island, 68; 
colonies, 76; bring suit, 109; in the 
states, 135 ; Fourteenth Amendment, 
208 ; in the Puritan colony, 234 ; in 
Indiana, 352 ; in Mexico, 376. 

Circuit Court, organization, 104; in 
charge of, 103, 106 ; midnight circuits, 
105 ; of District of Columbia, 105 seq. ; 
of Appeals, 106 ; time of meeting in 
Seventh Circuit, 107 seq. ; cases in, 
tries, 108 seq. ; of states, 356 seq. 



Circuit, Seventh, 106 .seq. 

Circulation, 178 seq. 

Cicero, 215. 

City, 225, 361 seq. 

Circulars, 302 seq. 

Cincinnati, negro school, 209; high 
schools, 227 ; newspapers, 247, 248 ; 
"Greek Slave," 278; railroad, 346; 
bridge, 350. 

Clergy, 230, 287. 

Cleritiont, 340. 

Clinton, 11, 12, 13; Governor, 101. 

Cliff-Dwellers, 27. 

Clans, 35. 

Clock, 40. 

Clayborne, 67. 

Cleveland, Grover, use of the veto, 120; 
nominated, 125; on the tariff, 145; 
election, 266 ; supported by Mugwumps, 
267 ; financial crisis, 268. 

Cleveland, Columbus, and Cincinnati 
Railroad, 346. 

Claims, 120. 

Clay, Henry, nominated for President, 
125, 327 ; in the Cabinet, 131 ; life of, 
249 ; protective tariff, 263 ; presidential 
candidate, 264. 

Clerks, government, 130; salaries, 130; 
consular, 256, 257; county, 353, 359 
seq. 

Cloth, 153. 

Club, Hunt, 156. 

Clipping, 167. 

Clearing house, 186. 

Clothes, 201. 

Classics, 218. 

Clark University, 227. 

Cloftin University, 227. 

Colonization, period of, 8; society, 203, 
243, 368. 

Colonies, the study, 8, 9; classes, 57; 
royal, 57; proprietary, 57 ; charter, 57; 
government, 57 seq. ; United Colonies 
of New England, 61 ; Andros, governor 
of, 61 ; fight with Parliament, 77 ; pur- 
suits, 140; Assembly, 244. 

Congress, Stamp Act, 10, 79; First Con- 
tinental, 10, 84; Second Continental, 
10,85, 102, 113, l.'iO, 148; Albany. 79; 
named, 96 ; First Session of National, 
102, 260; form Federal courts, 104, 
105; provided for judges, 104, 105; 
composition, 113 ; fixes number of rep- 
resentatives, 116; meeting, 117; ses- 
sions, 118, 260 seq.; bills, 119; pass 
over the veto, 119, 120; committees, 
120; state's electors depend on its 



384 



INDEX. 



numbers in, 121; passed Succession 
Bill, llili; Hamilton's scheme in, 148; 
making money, 155; suspended sub- 
treasury, 159; provided for bank, 
177-179; ordinance of 1787, 201; pro- 
vided for schools, 224 ; provided for 
Smithsonian Institute, 226; church 
prayed for, 240; foreign affairs, 254; 
tried to eliminate party feeling, 259; 
established mail routes and jwstage, 
300 seq. ; lottery bills, 312; appropri- 
ated money to Fulton, 322 ; to Morse, 
326 ; refused to pay Ericsson, 330 ; 
Edison's voting machine before, 332 ; 
photographs, 335 ; refused to assist 
transportation, 342 ; Charter Union 
Pacitic Railroad, 347 ; members of, ex- 
cluded from executive of state, 355 ; 
of Mexico, 376. 

Cornwallis, 13. 

Constitution, ratification, 13, 96 seq. ; 
given Virginia, 58 ; of North Caro- 
lina, 70 ; epilogue, 79 ; Federal Con- 
vention, 89, 91 ; manner of ratifying, 
95 ; taken up in detail, 95 seq. ; signed, 
97; before the people, 97 ; objection to, 
in Pennsylvania, 97 seq. ; strength, 
103 ; provides for a judicial depart- 
ment, 104; Eleventh Amendment to, 
108: provides for a Congress, 113; 
qualification for voting, 133 ; forbids 
bills of credit, 158; Bank of North 
America, 178 seq. ; provided for slaves, 
200: of Liberia, 204; of Kansas, 206; 
of church, 241 ; newspaper war over, 
244 ; opposing it in Federal Court, 258; 
parties, 259; construction of, 260 ; rati- 
fied by North Carolina, 261 ; need of, 
295 ; mail, 301 ; of Indiana, 352 ; of 
Japan, 369. 

Constitution Union party, 266. 

Cowpeus, 13. 

Conventions, Montgomery, 14, 15; An- 
napolis, 89; Federal, 89, 91 seq., 258, 
259; party conventions, 121, 123-125; 
in South Carolina, 207 ; Montgomery, 
207 ; Constitutional Convention of In- 
diana, 248. 

Confederate states, 15, 162, 207; Army, 
l(i, 20, 205. 

Cold Harbor, 20. 

Corinth, 17, 18. 

Columbus, 22, 23, 33. 

Corn, 34, 141 seq., 153. 

College, Jesuit, 49; Princeton, 92, 217, 
221; Yale, 92, 213, 219, 221: Harvard, 
92, 213, 218 seq.; Columbia, 92, 183, 



216, 221 ; Pennsylvania, 92, 221 ; Wil- 
liam and Mary's, 92, 213, 221 ; Oxford, 
92; of electors, 121; Oberlin, 209; 
Dartmouth, 220, 221 ; Brown, 220, 221 ; 
King's, 221 ; Rutgers,221 ; "',Villiams,242. 

Company, Plymouth, 57 ; London, 57 seq.; 
Plymouth Council, 60; London Plan- 
tation, 60; West India, 64, 192; East 
India, 81; Royal African, 189, 192; 
London, of Hatters, 294; South Caro- 
lina, Homespun, 298 ; Petersburg Man- 
ufacturing, 298; Roxbury India-rub- 
ber, 328; Niagara Falls Power, 337; 
Cataract Constructions, 337; Johnson, 
337; steamboat, 340; turnpike, 341; 
railroad, 346, 347. 

Connecticut, Charter Colony, 57 ; govern- 
ment, 67 seq., 78; formed a union, 76; 
compromise, 92, 94 seq. ; ratified con- 
stitution, 98 ; upper house, 118; qnali- 
fications, for voting, 132 ; due it from 
Congress, 149; slavery, 201; colored 
school, 209; school law', 219 ; Yale Col- 
lege, 220 ; toleration, 235 ; church, 239, 
240 ; newspapers, 246, 247 ; George D. 
Pi'entice, 249; plan of government, 
259; sheep, 298; agriculture, 307; 
prison life, 319 ; boat, 340. 

Council, Superior, 57 ; Inferior, 58. 

Courts, Virginia, 58 seq.; Massachusetts, 
60 seq. ; Merchant's, 62 ; Supreme, 104 
seq. ; Circuit, 104 seq. ; District, 104 
seq.; of Claims, 105 seq., 356; of Dis- 
trict of Columbia, 105; of Appeals, 
106; Private Land Claims, 106; State, 
110; United States, 112; English, 112; 
Dred-Scott, 206; of Indiana, 356 seq.; 
of Liberia, 3()8. 

Compact, 61, 75; Theory, 365 seq. 

Concessions, 71. 

County, 75, 225, 353 seq. 

Confederacy, 75, 91. 

Commercial taxation, 80. 

Corresponding committees, 83. 

Continental Congress, First, 84 ; Second, 
85 seq., 102, 113, 126. 

Concord, 85, 246. 

Columbia College,92,170, 183,216,221, 224. 

Committee of Thirteen, 102, 115, 120. 

Common law. 111; schools, 224, 359; 
branches, 212 seq. 

Conservatism, 118. 

Consuls, 125, 2.".fi, 257; general, 256, 257. 

Comptroller, 126, 185, 186. 

Commissioner, of Customs, 126 seq.; of 
Internal Revenue, 126 seq. ; of Patents, 
226, :&.) seq. 



INDEX. 



385 



Commissary-general, 127. 

Colonel, 128. 

Construction and repair, 128. 

Colorado, 135, 150, 224, 291. 

Coroner, 13(3, 3fi0 seq. 

Corruption, 137. 

Cotton, 1-10 seq. ; John, 220, 295 seq. 

Cottou-gin, 202, 324 seq. 

Compromise, Connecticut, 92 ; Missouri, 

141. 
Coffee, 143, 206, 306. 
Coal, 146. 

Copper, 153, 107, 172. 
Constable, 153. 
Coin, 153 seq., 165 seq. 
Counterfeiting, 167. 
Coinage, free and unlimited, 172 seq. 
Columbian half-dollars and quarters, 173 

seq. 
Coleman's scheme, 176 seq. 
Collateral, 179. 
Corporations, 182. 
Coloni cultivators, 188. 
Colonial press, 244. 
Courier, 249; -Journal, 249. 
Conductor, 205, 348. 
Cougregationalists, 214, 230 seq. 
Convicts, 214. 
Commerce, 226. 
Coast Survey, 226. 
Communion plate, 231. 
Commandments, 233. 

Courant, 245 seq. 

Coynmerclal, The,2i7; Gazette, 2A7 ; Tri- 
bune, 2i7; agents, 256. 
Coaches, 270; iu-four, 339. 
Cock-fighting, 281. 
Constance, 314. 

Corey, Giles, 316. 

Covered Jersey wagon, 339. 

Contract, 366. 

Congo Free State, 369. 

Corea, 369. 

Copenhagen, 372. 

Cortez, 373. 

Corsica, 376. 

Continent, 376. 

Colombia, 377. 

Costa Rica, 377. 

Consolidation, 347. 

Conduit system, 350. 

Commander-in-chief, 355, 

Collections, 361. 

Crown Point, 10. 

Creation, Indians', 36, 37. 

Crown, 166, 258, 281, 300 seq. 

Crime of 1873, 170, 317 seq. 
2c 



Crisis of 1837, 184, 347. 

Crimps, 202. 

Critical period, 13. 

Creoles, 208. 

Crimean War, 211. 

Criminal Court, 356 seq. 

Crawford, 263. 

Croton aqueduct, 351. 

Cranmer, 314. 

Crete, 366. 

Cuba, 206, 378. 

Cumberland, Road, 341; Presbyterian 

Church, 241 seq. ; Gap, 16. 
Customs, 270 seq.; Comptroller of, 126 

seq. 
Cupping, 286. 
Currency, 14, 120, 126, 145, 158 seq., 182 

.se^., 201. 
Cylinder press, 333 seq. 
Czar, 375. 

Davis, Jefferson, President, 15, 207. 

Dakotas, 185. 

Dames' schools, 217. 

Davenport, 220. 

Dartmouth College, 220, 221. 

Danville, 229. 

Daily, 246, 247. 

Dana, 251. 

Dancing, 281. 

Dahomey, 369. 

Daniara, 369. 

Declaratory Act, 10. 

Declaration, of Independence, 11, 86, 87; 
of Rights, 79. 

Delaware, River, 12; proprietary colony, 
57; settlement, 69; government, 69 
seq., 78, 87, 147 ; in the Federal Conven- 
tion, 94; ratifies the Constitution, 98; 
qualifications for voting, 132; owed 
Congress, 149; direct tax, 150; teach- 
ing the negro, 209; education, 214 seq.; 
school fund, 223; school supervision, 
225; school legislation, 228; batteries, 
311; boat, 340; canal, 344; Hudson 
Canal Company, 346. 

Declaration of War, 15, 213. 

Democracy, 74. 

Delegates, 124. 

Department, of Justice, 125; of State. 
126, 254 ; of Finance, 126, 161 ; of War, 
127, 152 ; of Navy, 128, 152; of Interior, 
129; of Agriculture, 129; Post-office, 
129, 153, 353 seq., 371. 

Debt, 148, 154, 260 seq., 305, 308, 309. 

Deeds, 150. 

Deficit, 152. 



386 



INDEX. 



Depreciation, 154 seq., 179. 

Decimal systeiu, 1(58. 

Denomiiiatious, 169, 172 seq. 

Demonetizatiou, 171. 

Depositors, 180 seq. 

Delos, 187. 

Demarcation, line of, 189. 

Denmark, 190, o71 seq. 

Detroit, 227. 

Democratic Press, 248, 250. 

Democratic party, 117, 124, 141, 145, 2C0 

seq. 
Deputy-consul, 250, 257 ; deputy, 353. 
Devil, 313. 
Destroyer, 331. 
De Lesseps, 343 seq. 
Dead Sea, 344. 
Defendant, 3()3 seq. 
Discovery of America, 22 seq. 
Dickinson, 93 seq. 
District of Colaml)ia, 99, 221, 348 ; Courts, 

104, 105, 107, 3()3 seq. ; Equity Court, 

105; Court of Appeals, 105; Criminal 

Conrt, 105, 125. 
Dillon, Judge, 111. 
Direct tax, 44, 139, 150. 
Directors, 176 seq., 358. 
Dilworth's Spelling-Book, 222. 
Dixon Normal, 229. 
Dissenters, 232. 
Diplomacy, 254 seq. 
Dispatches, 255. 
Diplomatic day, 256. 
Divorce, 275. 

Divine Origin Theory, 366 seq. 
Diet, 374. 
Dimes, 169, 174. 
Dock, Christoi)her, 216. 
Domestic debt, 148 seq. 
Doiighiss, 266. 
Dog. 298. 

Double-cylinder press, 334 seq. 
Dollar, 166 s"q. 
Doctrine, 286 seq. 
Double pistole, 167; tenth, 168; eagle, 

17;4. 
I) irchester Seminary, 214. 
Dreams, Indians, 37. 
Drafts, 150. 

Dred-Scott Decision, 206, 266. 
Drama, 214, 215. 

Dress, 272 .trc/., 296 seq., 305, 308, 309. 
Drinking, 281 seq. 
Dutcii, 64, (i9, 71, 192, 215; Reformed 

Church, 231 .neq., 235 seq., 273 seq., 279, 

343; (iniana, 378. 
Duke of York, 71 ; laws, 65. 



Duties, 1.39 seq., 191, 255-257, 350 seq. 

Dunkards, 240, 241. 

Dueling, 270, 282. 

Ducking stool, 318 seq. 

Dynamo, 332. 

Dynamite, 334, 343. 

Earth, 22, 23. 

Early man in America, 26. 

East Jersey, 71, 78; India Company, 81; 
India school, 213, 227, 247. 

Eagle, 88, 173 seq. 

Easter, 284. 

Ecuador, 337. 

Education, 203, 208, 212 seq. 

Edison, 323 seq. 

Edinburgh Review, 279. 

Egypt, 332, 369. 

Eighth, 1()6, lt)7 ; Congress, 264. 

Eigliteenth Congress, 264. 

Ellsworth. 92 .seg., 112; Miss, 327- 

Electors, College of, 102, 121 seq. 

Eleventh Amendment, 108; Congress, 
118, 264. 

Elections, committee of, 120; of Presi- 
dent and Vice-President, 121-125 ; qual- 
ifications for voters in the colonies, 
132; for holding office, 133; constitu- 
tional provision, 133; expanding of 
rights, 133 ; i)resent qnalitications in 
the states, 134, 135; time of holding, 
135; officers of, 1.35, 136: system of 
voting in the colonies, 136, 1.37; pres- 
ent sj'stem, 137, 138; election of 189(5, 
175; in Virginia, 272; in Indiana, 353 
seq. ; in Liberia, 3(58. 

Eleven-penny-bit, 116. 

Elizabeth, 217. 

Electricity, 322 seq., .325 seq. 

Electric pleasure boat, 323 seq.; light, 
.332; car, 336; locomotive, 349. 

Electro signaling instrument, 325 ; mag- 
net, 32(5. 

Electrotyping, 3.36. 

Electroplate bending machine, 336. 

Elevated roads, 349. 

Emblem, 88. 

Embargo Act, 140, 297 seq. 

Empire, 188, .335. 

Emancipation, 204,207, 208. 

Emerson, 206. 

Emigration, 2.30. 

Emigrant's guide, 248. 

Ems. 335. 

England, territory in America, 10; war 
with Holland, 65; population, 69; 
courts of, 112; money in America, 166, 



INDEX. 



387 



169; slavery, 190, 197, 200, 203; news 
papers, 215; sent to Harvard, 218 
church, 2oO seq. ; ministers to, 254 
war with France, 2t)2; claims, 291 
policy of in manufactures, 294; witches, 
314 ; electricity, 332 ; canals, 343 ; rail- 
roads, 345, 348; hridges, 350; tunnel, 
351 ; government, 36(3, 369 seq. 

Endicott, 60, 218. 

Engraving, Bureau of, 126, 335. 

Engineer, chief of, 127, 226. 

Envoy extraordinary, 254 seq. 

Enquirer, 248. 

Engines, 334, 340 seq. 

Episcopal Church, 239 seq. 

Equal Rights party, 264. 

Equipment and recruiting, 128. 

Eric the Red, 24. 

Ericsson, John, 330 seq., 345. 

Erie Canal, 343. 

Eskimos, 24. 

Essays, 214, 215, 272. 

Eternal Constitution, 70. 

Eutaw Springs, 13. 

Europe, 348, 351, 368. 

Euphrates, 351. 

Evening Star, 251. 

Executive Department, of United States, 
13; composition, 92, 93; how chosen, 
92, 93, 121 seq.; length of term, 92; 
power, 92-94; council, 92; removal, 92, 
93; name, 96; President, 96, 121; sal- 
ary, 123; candidates, 123; convention, 
123; nominations, 124, 125; Cabinet, 
125 seq. ; clerks, 130; of state, 353 seq. 

Expenditures, 152. 

Extra session, 172, 260. 

Exchangeable, 171 seq. 

Exports, 295. 

Ex-Presidents, 303. 

Exposition, 324. 

Farmers, 140; alliance, 267, 305 seq. 

Factories, 299. 

Falmouth, 301. 

Family, 367. 

Faro, 372. 

Fair Oaks, 18. 

Federal, Convention, 13, 89, 91 seq., 123, 
258, 259; party, 97, 105, 117, 2.59 seq.; 
papers, 101, 115; judges, 105, 106; judi- 
cial, 106 ; courts, 109, 206 ; officers, 117 ; 
clerks, 130 ; lotteries, 311. 

Festivals, Incas, 30, 34. 

Fees, Virginia, 59, 60; New England, 03, 
355 seq. 

Feudalism, 70, 75, 188, 367. 



Fessenden, Senator, 160. 

Ferdinand of Spain, 189. 

Ferguson's "Essays," 215. 

Festivities, 282. 

Feeble minded, 359. 

Five, Intolerable Acts, 10; Nations, 33, 
35 ; penny bit. Kid ; copper piece, 168 ; 
piece, 168 ; cent piece, 173, 174. 

First, Continental Congress, 10; Con- 
gress, 118, 260, 261; comptroller, 126; 
auditor, 126; lieutenant, 128; assist- 
ant postmaster, loO; day school, 242. 

Final jurisdiction, 107, 108. 

Fifth Congress, 118, 263; auditor, 126. 

Fifty-third Congress, 118. 

Finance, Department of, 126 ; Superin- 
tendent of, 126, 177 seq., 361. 

Fish, 147, 153. 

Fip, 166. 

Fiftieth Congress, 266. 

Fifty-first Congress, 266. 

Fifty-second Congress, 266. 

Fifty-third Congress, 2t)6. 

Fifty-fourth Congress, 266. 

Fifty-fifth Congress, 266. 

Fighting, 282 seq. 

Fitch, John, 323. 

Field, Cyrus W., 327. 

Fifteenth Amendment, 208; Congress, 
264. 

Filibustering, 206. 

Fillmore, 341. 

Firth of Forth. 350. 

Fiji Islands, 370. 

Florida, secedes, 14, 207; Spaniards in, 
198; school legislation, 209; school 
fund, 223, 224; readmitted, 267; boun- 
dary and ownership, 2S9. 

Flag, colonial, 86; national, 88. 

Flax, 141 spq., 154. 

Flowers, .'!0(j. 

Flour, 306. 

Fly shuttle, 324. 

Flying machine, 336, ,339. 

Fort Duquesne, 10; Sumter, 15; Henry, 
16, 17 ; Donelson, l(i, 17 ; Monroe, 18. 

Foote, Commodore. 17. 

Food, 42, 272 seq., 305 seq., 308 seq. 

Folkmoot, 74, 75. 

Fortieth Congress, 266. 

Forty-first Congress, 26(). 

Forty-second Congress, 266. 

Forty-tliird Congress, 266. 

Forty-fourth Congress, 266. 

Forty-fifth Congress, 118. 266. 

Forty-sixth Congress, 118, 266. 

Forty-seventh Congress, 266. 



388 



INDEX. 



Forty-eighth Congress, 266. 

Forty-uiiith Congress, 266. 

Foreign Affairs, Department of, 126, 254 
seq.; trade, 140, 202; debt, 148; coun- 
tries, 304. 

Fourth auditor, 126; assistant jjoslmas- 
ter, 130 ; Congress, 263. 

Fourpeuce, 166. 

Four and sixpence, 166. 

Fox hunting, 281. 

Fourteenth Amendment, 208; Congress, 
264. 

Fox, George, 237 seq. 

Foreigners, 352. 

Folketing, 372. 

Free trade, 139, 268. 

Free and unlimited coinage, 172, 268 seq. 

Free banking, 183 seq. 

Free soil, 204, 206, 265. 

Free school, 214, 220, 221. 

Free silver, 268 seq. 

Free delivery, 303 seq. 

French and Indian War, 9, 10, 140, 287. 

France, territory in America, 10 ; ac- 
knowledge independence of, and made 
alliance with United States, 12, 87 : war 
on colonies, 65 ; loaned money to United 
States, 147 ; trouble with, 149 ; money 
of, in United States, 166, 169; .slavery, 
190; Huguenots, 230,236; Methodism, 
233 ; would not allow Calvert to settle 
in Newfoundland, 236; arms of, 246; 
ministers to, 254, 255; war with Eng- 
land, 262; favored by Democrats, 262; 
government, 269 seq.; in New Eng- 
land, 278 ; Louisiana, 290 seq. ; tor- 
pedo-boat, 323; vehicle, 336; canals, 
343; bridges, 350; tunnels, 351. 

Fredericksburg, 19. 

Frislanda, 25. 

Franklin, plan of union, 85; answered 
North, 85; in Federal Convention, 92; 
Postmaster-General, 130, 300 ; univer- 
sity, 215; a scientist, 215; editor, 245; 
character, 273; inventor, 321, 325. 

Fruit, 153. 

Freeing slaves, 187 seq. 

Freedmen, 188 seq.; aid society, 227; 
Bureau, 227. 

Friends, Society of, 201 ; Church, 241. 

Freedom, 235 seq. 

Freewill Baptists, 240. 

Franking, 303 seq. 

Franco-German War, 333. 

Freight, 341 seq. 

French Guiana, 378. 

Fuller, Melville W., 112. 



Fund, 148 seq.. 223 seq., 342, 358. 

Furniture, 150, 308, 309. 

Furs, 153. 

Funerals, 272 seq. 

Furnaces, 295. 

Fulton, Robert, .■521 seq., 340. 

Fugitive Slave Law, 201, 202, 204, 205. 

Gates, General, 12. 

Garner, 44. 

Gaspee, 82, 83. 

Gazette, Independent, 101 ; Virginia, 214 ; 
Georgia, 214; Marijland, 214; Neio 
Jersey, 217 ; /^os<o?i," 244-247, 250, 281. 

Gage, Governor, 197. 

Garrison, William Lloyd, 204, 206. 

Gallatin, 259. 

Gambling, 271. 

Gadsden purchase, 291. 

Garfield, 125, 131, 292. 

Gas, 359. 

German, 9, 69, 166; Reformed Church, 
241, 245, 274, 283, 333, 344, 365, 367. 

Germantown, 13, 273. 

Georgia, secedes, 14, 207 ; Royal Colony, 
57 ; settlement, 72, 73 ; slaves, 73, 197, 
198 ; government, 73, 87 ; action in the 
Stamp Act Congress, 79 ; in the Federal 
Convention, 94; ratified the Constitu- 
tion, 98; qualifications for voting and 
holding otifice, 132, 133; Congress owed, 
149 ; laws on money, 156, 167 ; teaching 
slaves, 209 ; newspaper, 214, 246 ; school 
fund, 223, 224 ; Clark University, 227 ; 
Methodism, 233; readmitted, 267; mail, 
301. 

Gerry, Elbridge, 92. 117. 

Gerrymandering, 117. 

Geometry, 218, 222. 

Geography, 222. 

Geological Survey, 227. 

Geographical Survey, 227. 

George I., IL, 233. 

(Germany, 240, 254, 291, 314, 369 seq. 

General, welfare, 261 ; Assembly, 352 seq. 

Geneva, Lake, 314. 

Geologist, 359 seq. 

Ghent, 190. 

Gil Bias, 214, 272. 

Girl 222 226 227. 

Gibraltar, 37(>. 

Glasgow, 92. 

Glass, 140, 274. 

Globe, 250; Democrat, 249 seq. 

Glad.stone, 293. 

Gold, certificates, 14; money, 153, 165; 
circulation, 159 seq., 169; standard 



INDEX. 



389 



weight, 167, 172, 268; denominations, 
168, 172-174; ratio, 167-169, 175, 268; 
exported, 169, 172; foreign, 169, 170; 
fields, 316. 

Government, colonies, Virginia, 57-60; 
Massachusetts, 60-63 ; New Hampshire, 
64; New York, 64-66; Maryland, 66, 
67 ; Connecticut, 67, 68 ; Rhode Island, 
68 ; Delaware, 69, 70 ; North Carolina, 
70, 71 ; New Jersey, 71, 72 ; South Car- 
olina, 72 ; Pennsylvania, 72 ; Georgia, 
72, 73 ; growth of, in the Aryan race, 
74, 75 ; growth of, in America, 75-90 ; 
of Indiana, 352-362 ; of counties, 359, 
360; of townships, 360; of towns and 
cities, 360, 361; of Ohio, 369; of Illi- 
nois, 363 seq.; of Kentucky, 363 seq.; 
of the nations and their colonies, 365- 
378. 

Governor, 57, 58 seq., 134, 354 seq. 

Godfrey, Thomas, 215. 

Gouging, 283. 

Goddard, 300. 

Goodyear, Charles, 328 seq. 

Greenhacks, 14, 159 seq. ; party, 267, 268. 

Grant, General, at Cairo, 17 ; command 
in the West, 19 ; charge of army, 20 ; 
captures Richmond, 20 ; nominated for 
President, 125 ; President, 131 ; vetoed 
Greenback Bill, 162 ; hostility and elec- 
tion to presidency, 267. 

Greenland, 24, 378. 

Green Mountain Boys, 64. 

Greek, money, 143; slaves, 187; taught, 
213, 218, 219, 223, 229 ; slave, 278 ; claims 
on America, 291 ; Canal, 343 ; govern- 
ment, 371, 374. 

Gray, 199 ; captain, 292. 

Grammar, 213; school, 217, 222 seq. 

Grading, 227. 

Grace, 230. 

Greeley, Horace, 251, 252, 267. 

Great Lakes, 323; Western, 323; sewer, 
351. 

Greyhound, 323. 

Guinea, 160, 167. 

Gum, 327. 

Gun, 333 seq. 

Guatemala, 379. 

Guiana, 378. 

Guadeloupe, 378. 

Halifax, 11. 

Halleck, General, 17, 19. 
Hancock, John, 85. 

Hamilton, Federal Convention, 92 seq.; 
Senate, 115 ; Cabinet, 131 ; financial 



plans, 147 seq., 260, 310 ; money system, 
168 ; National Bank, 178, 261 ; Federal 
party, 259, 260 ; censured, 262. 

Harvard College, 92, 213, 218 seq., 224, 
287, 310, 311. 

Harrison, Benjamin, 101; President, 265, 
266. 

Half-dollar, 168 seq. 

Half-joe, 167. 

Half-penny, 168. 

Half-dime, 169, 174. 

Half-eagle, 173. 

Half-cent, 175. 

Hawkins, John, 189. 

Hard Money Democrats, 264. 

Haldeman, Mr., 249. 

Half-breeds, 267. 

Harvest, 284. 

Hatters, 294. 

Hale, Matthew, 313. 

Hargreaves, 324 seq. 

Hartz Mountains, 345. 

Hawaii, 370. 

Hayti, 377. 

Herjulfson, 24. 

Hemp, 34, 141 seq., 154. 

Henry, 81, 101, 214, 259, 272; VHI., 230. 

Helots, 187. 

Hebrew, 218. 

Hell Fire Club, 245. 

Herald, 248, 249, 251, 253. 

Hispaniola, 189. 

High schools, 214, 223, 227. 

Hicksites, 241. 

Hindustan, 370. 

Holland, churchmen, 91, 230; territory 
in America, 10; ally of France, 12 
claims, Delaware, 69 ; loaned money 
to United States, 147 ; slaves, 190 
claims New York, 216 ; Pilgrims in 
234; toleration, 236; claimed Oregon 
291 ; government, 371, 373. 

Howe, General, 11, 12; Elias, 325. 

Hooker, General, 19. 

Hood, General, 20. 

House, upper, appointment in colonies, 
57 seq.; named, 96, 113; elected Vice- 
President, 122; of Indiana, 353; of 
Liberia, 368. 

House, lower, appointment in colonies, 
57 seq.; named, 96, 113; elected Presi- 
dent, 122 ; action of state debt, 261 ; 
of Indiana, 353, of Liberia, 368. 

House of Burgesses, organization, 58; 
power, 58, 59 ; England sought to influ- 
ence, 81. 

Houses of colonial period, 305 seq. 



390 



INDEX. 



House of Lords, 372. 

House of Commons, 372. 

Hot Water Rebelliou, 150. 

Holders, currency, 180. 

Hoe, 201, 247, 2'18, 'SU seq. 

Hodder's Arithmetic, 222. 

Holbrook, Alfred, 229. 

Hobart, G. A., 2(;8. 

Hospitality, 270, 278, 281. 

Horses, 270, 281, 336. 

Home, 271, 274. 

Hogshead Races, 282. 

Homer, 325. 

Hotchkiss, B. B., 333 seq. 

Holy Land, 369. 

Hong Kong, .370. 

Huguenots, 9, 230 seq., 278. 

Hurons, territory, 33; number, 33 ; towns 
and houses, 33, 34 ; living, 34 ; creation, 
37; religion, 37; missionaries among, 
40,41, 46; grand council, 47, 48,- bap- 
tizing, 53; decreasing, 53; war with 
Iroquois, 53, 54; present conditiou, 
.55. 

Hundred Associates, 49, 51. 

Hunt, Robert, 231; Club, 156. 

Humphries, West, 114. 

Hunting, 232. 

Hume, 233. 

Hunkers, 285. 

Huskiugs, 284. 

Hudson River, 322, 342, 350, 

Hydraulics, railroads, 349. 

Iceland, 23, 24, 378. 

Idaho, 135. 

Illinois, Federal courts, 106 seq. ; suffrage 
in, 134; banking, 183, 184; territory, 
203; slaves, 203, 200 ; school laws, 209; 
school fund, 224; Dixon Normal, 229; 
John M. Palmer, 268 ; bridge, 350 ; gov- 
ernment, 363 seq. 

Importation, 149. 

Impeachment, 114, 117. 

Impotency, 230. 

Imperial Canal, .343; Diet, 369. 

India, 22, 171; rubber, 328, 332, 343, 370. 

Ingolf, 24. 

Incas, 29, .30, 32. 

Indians, territory, 33; tribes, 33; life, 
34; character, 34, 38; marriages, 34; 
women, 34; work, 34; laws and cus- 
toms, 34, 35; inheritance, .35; tradi- 
tions, 35; clans, 35; councils, 35; crime, 
35; punishment, 35; witches, 36; ma- 
terial world, ,36; Manitou, 36; great 
spirit, 36, 37 ; Manabozhe, 36 ; creation, 



36, 37; dreams, 36, 37; missionaries 
among, 58 seq. ; threatened the colo- 
nies in 1643, 76; department, 129; 
present cost, 152; money, 153; slaves, 
191, 194; massacre of 1622, 213; cuts, 
245,246; trade, 273; "big ears," Ore- 
gon s, 291. 

Inheritance, 35. 

Inferior council, 57 seq. 

Independence, 86, 87, 155. 

Indiana, Federal Courts in, 106, 107 ; suf- 
frage in, 134; wild cat money in, 158; 
banking, 183, 184; organized into a 
territory, 203; law for slaves, 209; 
Vincennes University, 224 ; school fund, 
224, 225 ; private normals of, 229 ; news- 
papers, 248 ; railroad subsidies, 347 ; 
government of, local and state, 352- 
364. 

Inhabitant, 113. 

Interior, Secretary of, 122, 126, 129. 

Internal revenue, 126, 139 seq. 

Industries, 140, 142 .seq. 

Income tax, 151, 268. 

Interest, 1.52 seq. 

Indentured servants, 201, 214, 317. 

Institutes, 223, 225, 226. 

Infant School Society, 227. 

Independent Advertiser, 245. 

Independent, National party, 267 ; Re- 
publican party, 267. 

Indianapolis, 248, 268, 332. 

Instructions, 255. 

Inoculation, 255. 

Innocent VIII., 314. 

Intemperance, 3. 

Invention, 321 seq. 

Interstate Commerce Act, 347. 

Inspector, 3.59. 

ludo-China, 369. 

Iowa, 224. 

Irish, work in the colonies, 9; in Iceland, 
23; in Delaware, ()9; church, 241 ; Lan- 
caster, 273; in Pennsylvania, 274, 283; 
in New England, 278. 

Irrigation, Incas, 32. 

Iroquois, territory, 33; tribes, 35; crea- 
tion, 37; character, 53, 54; wars, 55; 
allegiance to English, 65. 

Iron, 140 .s'ei/. ; 153. 

Ireland, 233; 311 seq. 

Island, 16, 18. 

Issue, 155. 

Israel, 3(36. 

Isthmus of Corinth, 343. 

Isthmus of Suez, 343. 

Italy, 188, 368 seq. 



INDEX. 



391 



Jackson, "Stonewall," threatens Wash- 
ington, 18; Andrew, nominated for 
President, 124 ; opposed protection, 
141; 263 seq.; bank, 182; money in 
state banks, 225; debtor not impris- 
oned, 319. 

Japan, 23, 369. 

Jaques, 53. 

James II., 65, 77. 

Jay, Federal papers, 101 ; Chief-Justice, 
112; Secretary of Foreign Affairs, 254; 
on the Constitution, 259; treaty, 262. 

Jay Cooke & Co., 160. 

Jamaica, 190, 200, 378. 

Jamestown, 191, 310. 

Java, 370. 

Jesuits, in America, 9; purpose in Amer- 
ica, 38 ; character, 38, 39 ; obstacles, 
39, 41, 42, 44, 45; first location, 39; 
devices, 40, 43, 47 seq, ; mission house, 
41 ; among the Hurons, 41, 42, 46 ; life, 
42, 43; Assossane, 43; Neutral Nation, 
45 ; Quebec, 48, 50, 51 ; college and 
seminary, 49 ; convents, 49, 50 ; Mon- 
treal, 50; Iroquois, 50; Hundred Asso- 
ciates, 51 ; New France, 52 ; Three 
Rivers, 52 ; Indian war, 52 ; persecution, 
52, 53 ; result, 55, 56. 

Jefferson, state, 101, 214, 272; manual, 
115 ; veto power, 120 ; elected to presi- 
dency, 122, 263; candidate for Presi- 
dent, 123 ; President, 131 ; chairman of 
committee to organize a money system, 
168; school section, 224; coast survey, 
226; in the Cabinet, 259; named the 
Republican party, 260 ; Vice-President, 
263; bought Louisiana, 263; patent 
office, 296, 297; mail, 301, 303. 

Jew, 193, 2.35. 

Johnston, A. S., 17, 249. 

Johnston, J. E., 17-20. 

Johnson, Andrew, 17, 114, 120. 

Johnson, Richard M., 122, 267. 

Johnson, Hale, 268. 

Jogues, 44, 54. 

Joint session, 122. 

Joe, 167 ; half, 167. 

Johannes, 167. 

Journal, Byrd's, 213. 

Journals, educational, 223. 

Journal, Neiv York, 246. 

Journal, Indianapolis, 248. 

Journal, Courier-, 249. 

Journal, Boston, 251. 

Journalism, 247. 

Jones, Margaret, 314. 

Johnson Company, 337. 



Johnstown, 337. 

Journey, 339. 

Judicial department, study of, 13; of 
Virginia, 59 ; of Massachusetts, 61 seq. ; 
of New England, 63 ; of New York, 66 ; 
of Maryland, 67 ; of Connecticut, 68 ; of 
Delaware, 70; of North Carolina, 71; 
of New Jersey, 71; of South Carolina, 
72 ; of Pennsylvania, 72 ; of Georgia, 
73 ; in the Federal Convention, 94 ; Con- 
stitution provides for, 104 ; first organ- 
ized, 104 ; judges, 104-106, 112; midnight 
judges, 105 ; Court of Claims, 105 ; Dis- 
trict of Columbia, 105 ; Circuit Court of 
Appeals, 106 ; Seventh Circuit, 107 ; ju- 
risdiction, 101, 107-109; state, 110, 111, 
353 seq.; law. 111, 112; of Indiana, 
353, seq.; Japan, 369. 

Judges, supreme, 104, 125 ; district, 104 ; 
circuit, 105 ; midnight, 105 ; of Court 
of Claims, 105 ; salary, 105 ; District of 
Columbia, 105 ; appointments, 106 ; as- 
sociate, 106, 263. 

Jurisdiction, 107, 108, 357. 

Justice of peace, 110, 357 ; department of, 
125, 130. 

Judiciary, 263, 

Kansas, 134, 206, 224 ; Nebraska Bill, 206, 
265, 266. 

Kay, 324. 

Kentucky, neutral position in the war, 
16; Bragg invaded, 18; suffrage, 133, 
134 ; agriculture, 141 ; underground 
railroad, 204; negroes, 207, 209 ; school 
fund, 223; newspaper, 249; admitted 
as a state, 261 ; Simon Buckner, 268 ; 
election of officers, 269; judges, 362; 
legislative department, 363, 364. 

Kennedy, John P., 326. 

Khiva, 370. 

Kidnappers, 201. 

King William's Academy, 214; college, 
221 ; creed, 283. 

Kiuetoscope, 333. 

Kineto-phonograph, 333. 

Kinship, 367. 

Kings, 367. 

Knox, 259. 

Know-nothing, 265. 

Kohlsaat, Mr., 249. 

Krag-Jorgensen, 333 seq. 

Law, of the Indians, 34, 35 ; in Virginia, 
59, 231; in Maryland, 67; in North 
Carolina, 71; common, 111; how laws 
are made, 119, 120; tariff, 141, 264; 



392 



INDEX. 



against slavery, 201 ; marriages of ne- 
groes and •whites, 202; slaves, 20S- 
210 ; school law in New Jersey, 217 ; 
school law in New England, 219; law 
in New England, 235, 319 ; in New York, 
235, 318, 319 ; sedition law, 2-17, 2()3 ; in- 
ternational law, 255 ; consuls, 256 ; 
Alien Law, 203 ; bankrupt law, 271 ; in 
the Carolinas, 273; of physicians, 287; 
on manufacturing in colonial days, 294 
seq.; in Pennsylvania, 318; internal 
improvement, 311, 342; railroad, 347; 
in state Assembly, 354; in Indiana, 
354 seq. 

La Jeune, 39, 40. 

Lawyers, 59, «0, 71, 158, 272. 

Lawless, 70. 

Land, property, 71, 224, 225; office, 129; 
bank, 17G seq.; holding, 188; grants, 
34H. 

Laud, Archbishop, 76. 

Lawful money, 173. 

Latin, 213, 218, 219, 223, 229. 

Language, 213. 

Lancaster, 250, 273. 

Labor, 272, 308, 309 ; reform party, 267, 268. 

Langley, 336. 

Lake, Erie, 337, 340, 342, .346 ; Superior, 
343; Huron, 343; Erie and Ohio River 
Canal, 344. 

Landstiug, 372. 

Lagthiug, 374. 

Labrador, 378. 

Lexington, 11, 85, 246. 

Legislative department, 13, 96, 113 seq., 
353 seq. 

Lee, Robert E., 18, 19; Richard Henry, 
81, 86, 97; Light Horse Harry, 101,214, 
272, 334. 

Leif , 24. 

Lead, 141 seq. 

Legal tender, 153 seq., 168. 

Legislators, 156. 

Levy, 166. 

Lectures, 215. 

Lebanon Normal College, 229. 

Levering, Joshua, 268. 

Learning, 278. 

Leeching, 286. 

Lewis & Clark, 291. 

Letters, 300 seq. 

Lesser Antilles, 378. 

Legacies, 150. 

Lincoln, election to presidency, 14, 207; 
study of administration, 15 ; Blockade 
Decree, 16 ; President, 131 ; proclama- 
tion, 208; nomination, 266. 



Lincoln, Benjamin, 127. 

Livingston, Robert R., 126, 254. 

Lieutenant, 128; colonel, 128; general, 
353 seq. 

Liquors, 1.52. 

Line of Demarcation, 189. 

Liberia, 203 .seq., 243, 368. 

Liberator, 204. 

Libraries, 213, 215, 218, 226, 311. 

Literature, 213-215, 271 seq. 

Liberty party, 264, 265. 

Liberal Republican, 267. 

Life, 271, 274 seq., 280 seq. 

Lightning-rod, 321. 

Light, 332 ; Traffic Railway, 349. 

Linotype, 335. 

Liverpool and Manchester Railway, 
345. 

Louisburg, 10. 

Louisiana, secedes, 14, 207; picayune, 166 ; 
teaching the negro, 209; school fund, 
223,224; bought, 263, 290 ; readmitted, 
267 ; boundary, 2i)0, 291 ; manufactures, 
299; Lottery Company, 310. 

Loyola, 38, 39, 56. 

London Company, grant of land, 57 ; or- 
ganized House of Burgesses, 75 ; of 
Hatters, 294. 

Local government, in the South, 60; in 
North, 60; Courts, 62; New England, 
63; ancient, 74, 75; action of roj'alty, 
77; recognized, 88; of state and coun- 
try, 352 seq. 

Locke, 70. 

Lords Commissioners of Foreign Planta- 
tion, 76. 

Log-rolling, 141, 261 ; college, 217, 251. 

Love joy, 206. 

Logan, James, 215. 

Logic, 218, 219. 

Lotteries, 224, 296 seq., 310 seq.; church, 
239 seq. 

Louisville, 249. 

Loose constructionists, 260, 263. 

Loco-focos, 264. 

Lockwood, Belva, 267. 

Loom, 325. 

Long-distance telephone, 333. 

Loraine, 337. 

Locomotives, 343 seq. 

Loango, 369. 

Lower Cochin China, 370. 

Lundy, Benjamin, 204, 206. 

Lutherans, 235, 241. 

Luxemburg, 371 seq. 

Lyons, 350. 

Lycurgus, 366. 



INDEX. 



393 



Manufacturing, in the South, 141 ; growth, 
142, 298 ; trade iu Liberia, 204 ; Smithso- 
nian Institute, 226 ; Germautown, 273 ; 
in Pennsylvania, 274 ; England's policy, 
294 seq. ; in the colonies, 294 seq., 307 ; 
in New England, 295, 296; spinning- 
jenny, 296 ; in the first of the National 
Period, 296-298 ; protection, 299. 

Massacre, Boston, 10, 199. 

Maryland, neutral position in the war, 
16 ; proprietary colony, 57, 66 ; religion, 
66, 67, 236, 237 ; government, 66, 67, 78, 
87; judicial system, 67; Constitution, 
87 ; ratified the Constitution, 100 ; qual- 
ifications for voting, 132; land, 146; 
owed Congress, 149 ; money, 153, 156 ; 
mint, 166; slaves, 201, 207, 209; ten- 
ants, 202; tax for college, 213; news- 
papers, 214, 245; colleges, 221; settle- 
ment, 236 ; Joshua Levering, 268 ; mail, 
300; tobacco, 306; Cumberland Road, 
341. 

March to the sea, 20. 

Malay, 23. 

Massachusetts, Indians, 32 ; charter col- 
ony, 57; settlement, 60, 234; govern- 
ment, 60, 61, 78; judicial, 62; local 
government, 63; opposed the Stamp 
Act, 79 ; opposed England's policy, 
80; act, 83, 84; in the Federal Con- 
vention, 94; Constitution, 99, 100; 
gerrymandered, 117 ; upi^er house, 
118 ; qualifications for voting, 132, 133, 
134; Congress owed, 149; taxes, 153; 
money, 153, 154 ; coinage, 166 ; bank, 
176, 179; slavery, 194 seq., 201, 205, 
209; gave Maine, 205; seminary in 
South Carolina, 214; education, 219, 
221; Puritans, 234; religion, 234 seq.; 
spinning-jenny, 296. 

Manitou, 36, 37. 

Manabozhe, 36. 

Marriage, Indians, 34, 43; slaves, 192 ; of 
bond-servants, 202 ; charge for marry- 
ing, 231 ; ministers, 232 ; in Pennsylva- 
nia, 274 ; festivities, 282 seq. 

Maine, excluded from United Colonies' 
Union, 61 ; bank note, 185 ; given to the 
Union, 205; slavery, 209; education, 
218; part of Massachusetts, 220; col- 
leges, 221; school fund, 223,224; Ar- 
thur Sewell, 268 ; manufacturing, 299 ; 
agriculture and trade, 307. 

Mance, 50. 

Muytiower, 61. 

Madison, James, in the Federal Conven- 
tion, 92 seq.; Constitution, 101; Fed- 



eralist papers, 120 ; President, 131, 263; 
education, 214; Constitution, 259; op- 
posed Hamilton's scheme, 260; ability, 
272 ; franking privilege, 303. 

Mason, 92, 214, 264. 

Marshall, John, Constitution, 101; as 
Chief-Justice, 112; of William and 
Mary's College, 213; education, 214; 
ability, 272. 

Manual, Jefferson's, 115 ; training school, 
223. 

Major-general, 128, 226. 

Markets, 187. 

Maverick, 199. 

Madagascar, 211, 368 seq. 

Mathematics, 213, 223, 229. 

Magazines, 214 seq., 302 seq. 

Mather, Increase, 218; Cotton, 220, 236, 
245, 287. 

Mayor, 226, 361. 

Mayhew, 246. 

Maxwell, William, 247. 

Magistrates, 272. 

May day, 284. 

Mail, 300 seq. 

Machines, 221 seq. 

Magnetism, 326. 

Mackintosh, 328. 

Maxim, 334, 336. 

Manchester Shii) Canal, 344. 

Marion County, 357. 

Mauritius, 369. 

Madeira, 369. 

Malta, 376. 

Manitoba, 378. 

Martinique, 378. 

Malacca, 369, 370. 

McClellan, 16, 18. 

McDowell, 18. 

McKinley, William, 145, 266, 268, 269. 

McLean, John R., 248. 

McGuire, Matthew, 268. 

McCormack, Cyrus, 331 seq. 

Methodists, the study of, 9 ; slaves, 201 ; 
in Liberia, 203 ; missionary work, 203, 
227 ; origin and early development, 232 
seq.; number, 241. 

Mexico, early Mexicans, 27, 28 ; archaeol- 
ogy, 28; money of, in United States, 
169, 170; slavery, 190; government, 
205, 291, 376; ministers to, 254, 255; 
mail, 304. 

Medicine, 32; and surgery, 128, 215, 228, 
274, 286 seq. 

Mecklenburg resolutions, 85. 

Merchants, 141, 156 seq. 

Metals, 153. 



394 



INDEX. 



Mercury, 215, 244, 246, 247. 

Merino, 298. 

Mesmerism, 326. 

Merchandise, 302 seq. 

Meeting-house, 217. 

Metaphysics, 219. 

Mechanics' Institutes, 223. 

Mergeuthaler, 335. 

Mediterranean, 344. 

Menu, 366. 

Mesopotamia, 3(i9. 

Mississippi, French and Indian War, 10; 
seceded, 14, 207; Island No. 10, 16; 
open the river, 17 ; gerrymandering, 
117 ; slavery, 205, 207, 209; school fund, 
224, 225; Rust University, 227; read- 
mitted, 267 ; River, 289 seq., 344, 346. 

Missouri, seceded, 16; gerrymandering, 
117; suffrage, 135; Compromise, 141, 
205, 20(); admitted, 205, 265; Dred- 
Scott, 206; slavery, 207, 209; school 
fund, 224; newspaper, 250. 

Mill Springs, 16. 

Middle Ages, 23, 188; states, 141, 154, 
158,180; colonies, 214 se^., 238, 239 seg. 

Midnight judges, 105, 263. 

Military affairs, 120, 127 seq. 

Michigan, 121, 134, 224, 323, 362 seq. 

Mint, r26, 170. 

Mines, 129, 226, 359. 

Minnesota, 134, 224, 362. 

Milan Decree, 140, 297 seq. 

Miscellaneous, 152. 

.Minor coins, 173. 

Missionaries, societies, 227, 231. 

Ministers, 212 seq., 230 seq., 254 seq., 262. 

Mills, John, 242. 

Minerva, 246. 

Mitchel, Charles H., 268. 

Militia, 352, 353 seq. 

Minors, 366. 

Monmouth, 12. 

Montgomery, convention, 14, 15, 207. 

Money, paper of the present, 14 ; Indiana, 
34; secured to pay debts, 149; defini- 
tion, 153 ; things used, 153 ; in Virginia 
and Maryland, 153; in Colonial Pe- 
riod, 153 seq,, 166 seq.; bills of credit, 
153-155 ; kinds of money, 154, 155 ; 
need of, 155; in the Revolution, 155; 
provision of Constitution, 158; in the 
beginning of national period, 158, 159; 
national period, 159, 160; greenbacks, 
161; Confederacy, 162 .seq.; qualities, 
165; origin, 166; banks, 176 seq., 267, 
357 ; orders, 303. 

Mound Builders, 27. 



Montezuma, 27, 28. 

Mohicans, 33. 

Mohawks, 35, 52 ; and Hudson Railroad, 

346. 
Montreal, 50, 51. 
Monarchy, 74, 75, 367. ' 
Moot, 74. 

Monroe, 120, 213 seq., 263. 
Morris, Robert, 126, 147, 177 ; Gouverueur, 

167. 
Montana, 134. 
Molasses, 141 seq., 200. 
Morrill, 143 seq. 
Morrison, John, 145. 
Mortgages, 154. 
Moidore, 167. 
Monometalism, 172. 
Mother, of Presidents, 190; of slavery, 

190. 
Moravians, 232 seq. 
Mormons, 241. 
Montaigne, 214, 272. 
Monrovia, 203 seq. 
Mobile, 208. 
More's Geography, 222. 
Moulton, General, 315. 
Morse, S. F. B., 325, 332. 
Monitor, 331. 
Motocycle, 336. 
Mountains, 345. 
Motor, 349. 
Moses, 366. 
Morocco, 369. 
Mozambique, 369. 
Mossamedes, 369. 
Moluccas, 370. 
Montenegro, 371 seq. 
Muskets, balls, 153. 
Murray's Grammar, 222. 
Museums, 226. 
Music, 235. 
Mugwumps, 267. 
Municipal Courts, 363 seq. 

National Bank, 178 seq., 263 seq. 
National Anti-slave Society, 265. 
National Democrats, 268 seq. 
National Bureau of Education, 225. 
National Bible Society, 243. 
National liepublican and Ohio Political 

Register, 247. 
National Republican, 249, 263 seq. 
Nahuas, 26. 
Narragansetts, 33, 76. 
Nationalism, 74. 

Navigation Act, 77, 128, 213, 294. 
Navy, aifairs, 120; Secretary of, 122, 



INDEX. 



395 



125; Department of, 128 seq., 152; 
expenditures, 227 ; yard, 333, 334. 

Naval, Academy, 129; Observatory, 227. 

Napoleon, 190, 290, 322. 

Napier, 334. 

Natal, 369. 

Natural philosophy, 219. 

National Presbyterian Church, 241. 

Nashville, 249. 

New England, French and Indian War, 
10; judicial system, 62, 63; local gov- 
ernment, 63, 75; confederation, 76; 
sheriff, 135 ; system of voting, 136, 137 ; 
taxation, 147 ; paper money, 154; bank- 
ing, 158, 159, 179 ; fourpence, KiG ; cur- 
rency, 182; education, 217 seq.; church, 
239; Sunday-school, 242; newspapers, 
245; life, 276, 277, 284; clergy, 287; 
physicians, 287 ; limits on trade and 
manufactures, 295; mail, 301; agri- 
culture and trade, 307; witches, 314; 
law, 319 ; travel, 339, 340. 

New York, resistance towards England, 
10 ; Royal Colony, 57 ; settlement, 64 ; 
patroons, 64; government, 64-66, 78; 
broke non-importation agreement, 82 ; 
in the Federal Convention, 94; rati- 
fication, 101, 102 ; qualification for 
voting, 132, 133; tariff, 141; owed 
Congress, 149; money, 153, 156, 157, 
166, 167 ; bank, 179 ; slavery, 192-194, 
201, 209; tenants, 202; suffrage, 209; 
education, 216, 217, 219, 223; colleges, 
221, 224; lotteries, 224; high schools, 
227; religion, 235 seq.; newspapers, 
245, 246, 251 ; meeting in Congress, 
260 ; Governor Seward, 265 ; Stalwarts, 
267; half-breeds, 267 ; life in, 275 seq., 
284; mail, 300; agriculture and trade, 
306; animals, 318; gave money to 
Fulton, 322; Niagara Falls Power 
Company, 337 ; Cataract Construction 
Company, 337; traveling, 339-341; 
canal, 342; bridge, 350; tunnel, 351. 

New York & Harlem, 346. 

New York Central, 346, 347. 

New Orleans, 18, 202, 227. 

Neutral nations, 45. 

New Jersey, Royal Colony, 57; settle- 
ment, 71; government, 71; constitu- 
tion, 87 ; plan of government, 95, 259 ; 
ratified, 98; qualifications for voting 
and office-holding, 132-134 ; tariff, 141 ; 
taxes, 147 ; Congress owed, 149 ; money, 
157,166; slavery, 201; education, 217; 
school fund, 223, 224; Fox, 238; reli- 
gion, 238 ; life, 284, 306 ; medicine, 287 ; 



lottery, 311; travel, 342, 346; bridge, 
350. 

New Hampshire, Royal Province, 57 
government, 64, 78; ratified the con 
stitution, 101; office, voting qualifica 
tions, 132-134; Congress owed, 149 
slaves, 201; education, 217-220; school 
fund, 223; religion, 235, 240; newspa 
pers, 246; agriculture, 307; witchcraft 
315. 

Nebraska, 134, 224, 225, 268. 

Negro, 186 seg., 317, 368. 

New Amsterdam, 193. 

Newport, 200. 

Neivport Mercury, 246, 247. 

New Years, 284, 296. 

New Mexico, 225, 291. 

Nevada, 224, 291. 

New Gate, 319. 

Nero, 343. 

Nepaul, 369. 

New Guinea, 370. 

New Zealand, 370. 

New Caledonia, 370. 

Newfoundland, 378. 

New Brunswick, 378. 

Newsimper, 213 seq., 244 seq., 300 seq. 

New Haven, 220. 

New Lights, 232. 

News Letter, 244. 

Neio London Summary, 246. 

ISfeios, 248. 

Niagara, 10, 337, 344 ; Falls Power Com- 
pany, 337. 

Nickel, 153, 172. 

Ninth Congress, 264. 

Nineteenth Congress, 264. 

Nicaragua, 377. 

North Carolina, seceded, 15; Royal Colo- 
nies, 57 ; settlement, 70 ; government, 
70, 71 ; Stamp Act Congress, 79 ; Regu- 
lators, 82 ; in the Federal Convention, 
94 ; voting qualifications, 132 ; revenues, 
147 ; owed Congress, 149 ; money, 156, 
166 ; slavery, 201, 203, 207, 209; bound- 
ary, 213; colleges, 221; school fund, 
223; education, 225; newspaper, 246; 
ratified constitution, 261 ; readmitted, 
267 ; life, 272, 273. 

Northmen, 24. 

North, 60, 84, 85, 200, 201, 203, 205, 206, 
227, 238. 

Nova Scotia, 61, 239, 378. 

Northwest Territory, 133, 224, 378. 

North Dakota, 134. 

Nomination, 136. 

Non-Intercourse Act, 140. 



396 



INDEX. 



Notes, bank, 156 seq.; treasury, 159 seq., 
171 seq.; present, 163, 176 seq. 

Normal schools, 225 seq. 

Northern Indiana Normal College, 229. 

Northern Democrats, 266; Pacific, 347, 
351. 

Nonconformists, 2.32. 

North America, 250, 348. 

Non-importation Act, 298 seq. 

North Sea, 344. 

North Wales, 350. 

Notary public, 359. 

North Borneo, 370. 

North Zanzibar, 366. 

Norway, 371 seq. 

Numa, 366. 

Nunez, Dr., 377. 

Oberlin College, 209. 

Observatory, .227. 

Observer, 248. 

O'Connor, 267. 

Ocean, 347. 

Oceanica, 370. 

Odelsthing, .374. 

Officers, 117, 125, 127, 158. 

Offices, 129, 133, 296, 352 seq., 359, 374. 

Oglethorpe, 198. 

Ohio, French and Indian War, 10; con- 
stitution, 134; tariff, 141; bank, 183; 
negroes, 209; school fund, 224; col- 
leges, 229 ; newspapers, 247, 248 ; John- 
son Company, 3.37; immigration, 341; 
freight, 342 ; government, 362 seq. 

Ohio & Mississippi Railroad, 346. 

Oil, 153, 204, 321. 

O'Keefe, 279. 

Oklahoma, 134. 

Olmecs, 26. 

Oleomargarine, 150, 152. 

Omnibus Bill, 205, 265. 

Oneidas, 35. 

Onondagas, 35. 

Ontario, 378. 

Opposition, 177 seq. 

Oration, 47. 

Orphan, court, 72, 225; home, 369. 

Orthodox, 241. 

Original jurisdiction, 107, 108. 

Ordnance office, 125, 128. 

Oregon, 134, 205, 224, 291. 

Orders, in council, 140, 150, 297 seq. 

Ordinance of 1787, 200. 

Oriental languages, 213. 

Orrery, 215. 

Order, money, 303 seq. 

Orient, 366. 



Orange River Free State, 368. 
Osteud Manifesto, 206. 
Osgood, 30. 
Otis, 246. 
Ovando, 189. 
Oxford College, 232. 

Paper money, study of, 14 ; bills of credit, 
153; South Carolina, 150, 154; Massa- 
chusetts, 154 ; Virginia, 154, 156 ; Rhode 
Island, 154, 157; New England, 154; 
Middle States, 154; kinds of, 154, 155; 
in the Revolution, 155; iu Maryland, 
156; Pennsylvania, 156; North Caro- 
lina, 156; Georgia, 156; New York, 
156; Tom Paine, 156; New Jersey, 157 ; 
bank, 157, 159, 178 seq. ; constitution, 
158; national period, 158, 159; treasury 
notes, 159 seq.; greenback, 160 seq.; 
Confederate, 162; present notes, 163, 
164. 

Paymaster-general, 127. 

Patroon, 64 ; schools, 212 seq., 216, 217. 

Patterson, 92, 259, 311. 

Patent Office, 129, 152, 226, 296 seq. 

Parliament, 116, 154, 176, 233, 372. 

Paine, Tom, 153, 164. 

Paid well, 199. 

Palm oil, 204. 

Parchment, 150. 

Paul, 210. 

Parochial schools, 212 seq. 

Palmer, John M., 24, 208. 

Papist, 278. 

Passover, 284. 

Painting, 278. 

Parsons, Hugh, 314. 

Parris, Rev., 315, 316. 

Paddle-wheel, 322. 

Paris, 324, 350. 

Papin, Dr., 324. 

Pachas, 369. 

Paraguay, 377. 

Packet sloop, 342, 

Panama Canal, .343. 

Pan-American Railroad, 348. 

Perryville, 18. 

Pequods, 33, 194. 

Pennacooks, 33. 

Penn.sylvaiiia, proprietary colony, 57 ; 
government, 73, 78, 147 ; University, 
92, 221, 287; in Federal Convention, 
94; ratification, 97, 98; qualification 
for voting, 132; for office-holding, 1.33; 
tariff, 141 ; taxes, 147 ; money, 156, 166 ; 
bank, 177 ; slavery, 197, 198, 200, 201, 
209; education, 214, 215, 219; school 



INDEX. 



397 



fund, 223; religion, 241; newspapers, 
247, 250, 251; life, 273 seq., 282; medi- 
cine, 287 ; manufacturing, 298 ; agricul- 
ture, 306; crime and punishment, 317 
seq. ; Johnson Company, 337 ; travel- 
ing, 339 seq. 
Penn, 78, 215, 318 seq. 
Peck, James H., 114. 
Pensions, office, 129, 152. 
Pence, 153, 166 seq. 
Peas, 153. 
Peru, 170, 376. 
Pendleton, 214, 272. 
Pedagogue, 216, 229. 
Peabody Fund, 228. 
People's party, 268. 

Petersburg Manufacturing Company, 298. 
Periodicals, 302 seq. 
Peral, Lieutenant, 322. 
Persia, 369. 

Philadelphia, resistance to England, 10; 
the Revolution, 12; Bank of North 
America, 179 ; learning, 214, 225, 227 ; 
religion, 239; Sunday-school, 242; 
newspapers, 244 seq., 250; first Con- 
gress, 260; life, 273 seq.; mail, 300; 
prisons, 319. 
Philadelphia and Trenton Railroad, 346. 
Phillips, Wendell, 206. 
Philosophy, 213; society, 215, 218, 219, 

229. 
Philander Smith College, 227. 
Physicians, 286 seq. 
Phoenix, 323. 
Phonograph, 333. 
Photomechanical, 335. 
Photograph Congress, 335 ; image, 335. 
Photocosmography, 335. 
Photocollography, 335. 
Photoglyphtography, 335. 
Photo-engraved, 335. 
Photoplastography, 335. 
Photoprint, 335. 
Phototypography, 335. 
Philippine Islands, 370. 
Pilgrims, 60, 61, 75, 230 seq. 
Pitt, 80. 

Pinckney, 92 seq. 

Pickering, John, 114; Timothy, 301. 
Pierce, President, 120, 206, 265, 347. 
Pig-iron, 142. 
Picayune, 116. 
Pistole, 167 ; double, 167. 
Pistol, 200. 

Pike's Arithmetic, 222 ; Peak, 349. 
Piracy, 318. 
Pillory, 316 se(2. 



Plymouth Company, 57, 61, 75, 79, 135, 

149. 
Playing-cards, 150. 
Plate, 150, 231, 271, 335 seq. 
Platinum, 153. 

Plot, negro, 193 seq. 

Plan, Virginia, 258; New Jersey, 259; 
Connecticut, 259. 

Plantation, 270. 

Planter, 270-272. 

Plays, 279. 

Plaintiff, 362 seq. 

Polynesia, 23. 

Port Bill, 81, 83, 84. 

Postmaster-General, 122, 126, 130, 244, 
353, 368 seq. 

Post-office, Department of, 129 seq., 152; 
building, 297, 300 se?. 

Polls, 137. 

Pottery, 140. 

Portugal, 169, 190, 369 seq. 

Pope's " Essays," 214, 272, 289 seq., 314. 

Poor, Richard, 215 ; whites, 272, 317. 

Politics, 218, 278 ; parties, 258 seq., 272. 

Polk, James K., 265. 

Populists, 268 seq, 

Poughkeepsie, 350. 

Porto Rico, 378. 

Potomac, 300. 

Postage, 'SOOseq. ; stamps, 303 seq. 

Postal cards, 302 seq. 

Police, 361. 

Presbyterians, 9, 217, 228, 231, 232 seq. 

Princeton, captured, 12; College, 92, 217, 
221, 330. 

Products, 32, 305 seq. 

Proprietary colonies, 57, 66. 

Protestants, 71, 132,215,236 seq.; Epis- 
copal Church, 238. 

President, provision by the Federal Con- 
vention, 92-94, 96 ; first election of a, 
102, 260; appointment of judges, 106; 
of Senate, 114; removal, 114; calling 
special sessions, 117, 172 ; veto power, 
119, 120; position, 121; qualifications 
of, 121; how elected, 121, 123, 124; 
electors, 121, 122; election by the 
house, 122; succession, 122; salary, 
123; nominations, 123, 124; conven- 
tions, 123, 125 ; power and duty, 125 ; 
Cabinet, 125 seq. ; appointment of 
cadets, 128; bank, 180, 185; eman- 
cipation, 207; board of trustees for 
Smithsonian Institute, 226 ; prayed for, 
240; candidacy of Horace Greeley, 
252; appointment of consuls, 257; 
franking privilege, 303. 



398 



INDEX. 



Preamble, 96, 261. 

Private, Land Claims, Court, 106, 128; 
schools, 212. 

Previous question, 118. 

Presidential Succession Bill, 122. 

Printing, 126, 214, 334 seq. 

Provisions and clothing, 128. 

Primaries, 136. 

Proxy, 136. 

Protection, 139 seq., 252, 263, 299. 

Precious metals, 153. 

Providence, 200, 235, 246. 

Primary education, 223, 227. 

Prayer-Book, 231, 240. 

Press, 244 seq., 334 seq. 

Prentice, George D., 249. 

Prohibition party, 267, 268, 354 seq. 

Prisons, 317 seq. 

Prussia, 374. 

Prince Edward Island, 378. 

Probate Courts, 363 seq. 

Prosecuting attorney, 363. 

Psalm-Book, 222. 

Psychology, 229. 

Pumpkins, 34. 

Punishment, among the Indians, 35, 47 ; 
in Virginia, 231 ; among the Puritans, 
234; of the Quakers, 237, 238; in the 
South, 317; in Pennsylvania, 317, 318; 
in New York, 318; in New England, 
319 ; prison life, 319, .320. 

Puritans, settled at Plymouth, 60; in 
New Jersey, 71 ; New England unions, 
76; education, 217-220; who were 
they? 230, 231, 234; laws, 231; life, 
275 seq. 

Publius, 101. 

Public lands, 120, 152. 

Public buildings, 129. 

Public schools, 212 seq. 

Public School Society, 223. 

Public Occurrences, 244. 

Public Ledr/er, 250. 

Public works, 361. 

Public safety, 361. 

Public health, 361. 

Quakers, study of, 9 : in New Jersey, 71, 
238; in Pennsylvania, 72, 198, 215, 280; 
slaves, 200, 201, 203, 209; schools, 215, 
216, 221, 223, 224; origin, 237; charac- 
teristics, 237, 273 ; persecution, 237, 2.38 ; 
Fox, 238; government, 238; number, 
238, 241; charity, 273, 274; life, 273- 
275 ; crime and punishment, .'517, 318, 
320. 

Qualifications, citizenship, in the colo- 



nies, 58, 61, 66, 67, 6^73, 132, 133; for 
officers and voters as talked in the 
Federal Convention, 96 ; citizenship in 
Virginia, 1.32; in South Carolina, 132; 
in Massachusetts, 132; in Georgia, 132; 
in Pennsylvania, 132 ; in New Hamp- 
shire, 132; in North Carolina, 132; iti 
Maryland, 132; in Rhode Island, 132; 
in New York, 132 ; in Delaware, 132 ; 
in Connecticut, 132 ; in New Jersey, 
133 ; for office-holding in the colonies, 
133; in the national period, 133; pro- 
vided by the Constitution, 133; in the 
states at present, 134, 135 ; for voting 
in Indiana, 352; in other nations, 370 
seq. 

Quartermaster-general, 127, 128, 358. 

Quarter, 167 seq. ; eagle, 173. 

Quadroons, 202 seq. 

Quadrant, 215. 

Quebec, 10, 39, 48, 50, 83, 295, 378. 

Quiches, 26. 

Quit-rents, 146 seq. 

Quincy, 209. 

Quilting, 284. 

Quorum, 354 seq. 

Eawdon, Lord, 13. 

Rangers, 64. 

Randolph, member of House of Burgesses, 
81 ; president of First Continental 
Congress, 84 ; in the Federal Conven- 
tion, 92, 258; education, 213; ability, 
214, 272 ; proposed the Virginia plan of 
government, 258; Cabinet, 259. 

Ratification of Constitution by the states, 
95-102. 

Ratio, representative, for Congress, 116; 
between silver and gold, 168, 169; of 
Ohio, 362; of Illinois, 363 seq.; of Ken- 
tucky, 363. 

Railroad, 204, 332, 344 seq. 

Raleigh, 231, 271. 

Racing, 232, 280 seq. 

Rapid transit, 349. 

Revolution, study of, 9; causes of, 10; 
story of, 11 .<ieq.; prologue and. epi- 
logue, 79; slavery, 197-199; effect in 
the Church, 2.38, 240; journalism, 245, 
246; petition, 258; mail, 300, 301; lot- 
tery, 310, 311 ; travel, 339. 

Retreat, 11, 12. 

Religion, 30, 36, 37, 203, 230. 

Republicanism, 74. 

Restoration, 77, 232, 237. 

Regulators, 82. 

Regulating Act, 83. 



INDEX. 



399 



Representatives, 102, 113 seq., 122; at 
large, 116, 226, 353 seq. 

Residents, 113. 

Republican party (old) , 121 ; (new) , 121, 
145, 206, 250, 260. 

Recorder, 136, 353 seq. 

Revenue, 139 seq. ; commissioner of, 126; 
154 seq. ; 179, 268. 

Rebellion, Hot Water, 150. 

Register, 126 seq. 

Receipts, 152. 

Receivable, 172 seq. 

Redeemable, 172 seq., 177 seq. 

Regiment, 199. 

Redemptiouers, 201. 

Reformation, 233. 

Reform, Episcopal Church, 240; school, 
359. 

Rebel, Chattanooga, 249. 

Republic, 249 seq. 

Record, 250. 

Reid, Whitelavs^, 250. 

Resolutions, 263. 

Reconstruction, 266, 267. 

Regular Prohibitionists, 268. 

Review, 279. 

Registered letters, 303 seq. 

Reaper, 331. 

Reichstag, 374. 

Rhode Island, charter colony, 57 ; settle- 
ment, 68; character, 68, 70; govern- 
ment, 68, 78 ; excluded from the New 
England union, 76, 77 ; Gaspee, 82 ; 
ratified, 102; upper house, 118; citizen- 
ship, 132, 133; Congress owed, 149; 
money, 154, 157; slaves, 199, 201, 209; 
education, 217, 220, 227; school fund, 
223 ; religion, 235, 236 ; life, 273; travel, 
340. 

Richmond, 16-18, 20. 

Rice, 153. 

Rights, 192. 

Rittenhouse, 215. 

Rio Grande, 291. 

Rifle, 333 seq. 

Rigsdag, 372. 

Rosecrans, 19. 

Royal colonies, 57; instructions, 81, 83. 

Romans, 153; Church, 230 seq. 

Rome, 187, 188, 343, 345, 366. 

Rope, 200. 

Robertson's "Charles V.," 215. 

Roxbury India Rubber Company, 328. 

Roads, 336, 341 seq. 

Rocket, 345. 

Roumania, 371 seq. 

Rum Act, 73, 141 seq., 200. 



Rutledge, 92 seq., 112. 

Rules, 116 seq. ; Carpet Bag, 267. 

Russia, 210, 254, 291, 323, 332, 369 seq. 

Rutgers College, 221. 

Rust University, 227. 

Rumsey, James, 323. 

Rubber, 328. 

Rye, 153. 



Saratoga, 12, 346. 

Sante Marie, 44. 

Salaries, of judges, 105, 106; of senators, 
115, 116; of representatives, 115, 116; 
of President, 123; of Cabinet olficers, 
126-130; of ministers in colonies, 231; 
of ministers abroad , 254, 255 ; of con- 
suls, 256, 257 ; of postmasters, 303, 353 ; 
of governor of Indiana, 356 ; of lieu- 
tenant-governor, 356. 

Salt, 147, 153, 342. 

Safety Fund System, 182 seq. 

Salem, 200, 238, 315. 

Santa Anna, 205; Cruz, 378. 

Sabbath, 231, 234, 267, 319. 

Sack races, 282. 

Savannah, 301, 323, 340. 

Sailors, 352. 

Sahara, 369. 

Sackatoo, 369. 

San Marino, 370. 

San Salvador, 377. 

Santo Domingo, 377. 

Scotch, 9, 241, 296. 

Scott, General, 16, 125, 206, 265. 

Scott, Walter, 335 seq. 

Scotland, universities, 92, 231, 233, 239, 
350, 371. 

School, for negroes, 208-210 ; in the col- 
onies, 212-221; Revolution, 221; free 
schools, 212, 221; private school, 212, 
214: seq.; parochial, 212, 216; patroon, 
212, 216; public, 212, 218; text-books, 
222; boys', 222; girls', 222; grammar, 
222, 223 ; primary, 223 ; funds, 223, 224 ; 
super\asion, 223; high school, 227 ; Sun- 
day-school, 242; medical schools, 274, 
287 ; in Indiana, 358 seq. 

Science, 215, 229. 

Sciota Gazette, 247. 

Schoolmaster, 212. 

Schoolhouse, 247. 

Screw propeller, 322 seq. 

Scheldt, 343. 

Second Continental Congress, 10, 11, 130. 

Second comptroller, 126. 

Second auditor, 126. 



400 



INDEX. 



Second assistant postmaster, 130. 

Second Congress, 261. 

Secession, 14, 15, 21, 102. 

Senecas, o5. 

Seven Pines, 18. 

Seven Days' Battle, 19. 

Self-government, 78, 82, 87. 

Senate, provision in the Federal Conven- 
tion, 94, 95 ; part of Congress, 113 ; com- 
posed of, 113; members elected, 113; 
vacancies, 113; president of, 114; duties 
and powers, 114 ; objects, 115 ; quorum, 
115, 122; secret sessions, 115; commit- 
tees, 115, 120; chairmen, 115; meet- 
ings, 118; otificers, 119; making laws, 
119,120; elects Vice-President, 122; ap- 
pointments, 130, 255; of Ohio, 134; po- 
litical color, 259-2()9 ; of states, 333 scq. 

Senators, election of fir.st, 102; number, 
113; vote, 113; qualifications, 113; 
speeches, 115; salary, 115, ll(j; elect 
Vice-President, 122; Smithsonian In- 
stitute, 226; of Indiana, 353; of Ohio, 
362; of Illinois, 303, 364; of Kentucky, 
364. 

Seventh Circuit, 106 seq. 

Seventh Day Baptists, 240. 

Seventh to Eighteenth Congress, 264. 

Session, 118, 122, 172, 206 seq., 354 seq. 

Secretary, Cabinet, succeeds the Presi- 
dent, 122. 

Secretary, of Navy, 125, 127, 330, 357 
seq., 368 seq.; of State, 125, 126, 254, 
297, 330; of Treasury, 125, 126; of 
War, 125, 127, 297; of Agriculture, 
126, 127 ; of Interior, 126, 127, 297 ; of 
Foreign Affairs, 254. 

Seniorage, 171. 

Securities, 179. 

Servile War, 187. 

Serfdom, 188, 210. 

Separatists, 232 seq. 

Seabury, 239. 

Sedition Laws, 247, 263. 

Sentinel, of the Northwest, 247 ; Imli- 
anupoUs, 248. 

Service, consular, 256. 

Servants, 201, 214, 273, 279. 

Seth's History, 213. 

"Sermons," kair's, 214, 235, 272. 

Seminary, Dorchester, 214, 223, 228. 

Sewing-machine, 325. 

Seventeenth Congress, 264. 

Seward, Governor, 265. 

Sewell, Arthur, 268. 

Severn, 350. 

Seine, 350. 



Senegambia, 369. 

Servia, 371 seq. 

Shiloh, 17. 

Sherman, General, 19, 20 ; Roger, 92 seq. ; 
Act, 171, 172. 

Sheridan, General, 20, 279. 

Shaftesbury, 70, 233. 

Shays' Rebellion, 89. 

Sheriff, 135, 300. 

Shells, 153. 

Shilling, 166 seq. 

Sheep, 298. 

Shoes, 328. 

Shakespeare, 279. 

Six years' resistance, 10. 

Silver, study of, 14 ; used as money, 163, 
165, 107, 168, 172 seq.; ratio, 168, 169; 
certificates, 171, 208. 

Silver Grays, 205. 

Siberia, 23, 370. 

Sixth, auditor, 126; Congress, 263. 

Signal Oflice, 127; Service, 227. 

Silk, 153. 

Sixteenth, 160; Congress, 264. 

Sixpence, 106, 167. 

Sickness, 286 seq. 

Sirius, 323. 

Single-cylinder press, 335. 

Sierra Leone, 369. 

Siam, 369. 

Singapore, 370. 

Skins, 153. 

Slavery, study of, 9 ; in the Confederacy, 
15 ; in Georgia, 73 ; in the Federal Con- 
vention, 96 : allied with free trade, 141 ; 
tax, 150, 191 ; ancient, 187 ; Greece and 
Rome, 187, 188; of Middle Ages, 188; 
in the New AVorld, 189; slave trade, 
189-191, 200; in Virginia, 190 seq.; in 
New York, 193 ; in the colonies, 190- 
199; Revolution, 199; National Era, 
200; freeing the slaves, 201; white, 
201, 202; quadroons, 202; Fugitive 
Slave Law, 202; societies, 203, 204; 
Liberia, 203, 204; opposition to, 204 
seq.; territory, 205 seq.; Civil War, 
207; education, 208, 209; extinction, 
210,211 ; Abolitionists, 264; legislation, 
205-267; work, 270; Pennsylvania, 273, 
317. 

Slater Fund, 228. 

Slanderers, 231. 

Smith, Melancthon, 102; John, 231. 

Smitlisonian Institute, 226. 

Smithson, John, 220. 

Smallpox, 286, 287. 

Snuff, 150 seq. 



INDEX. 



401 



South Dakota, 134. 

South America, 190. 

South Carolina, secedes, 14 ; Royal Col- 
ony, 57 ; settlement, 72 ; government, 
72, 78; in Federal Convention, 94 ; rati- 
fied, 100; chose electors, 121; qualifi- 
cation for voting, 132 ; tariff trouble, 
142; Congress owed, 149; money, 153, 
154, 156; slavery, 207, 210; education, 
214, 221, 223, 227; religion, 238; news- 
papers, 245, 246; readmitted, 267; 
Homespun Company, 298 ; railroad, 
346. 

Society of Jesus, purpose in America, 38. 

Society, United, 233 ; American Philo- 
sophical, 321. 

Societies, against slavery, 200, 201, 203, 
204; to advance education, 215, 223, 
227; to advance manufacturing, 296 
seq. 

Society, Colonial Period, 270-280; gov- 
ernment, 366. 

Society to promote art, 322. 

Society Islands, 370. 

Soothsayers, 39. 

Sorcerers, 39. 

South, local government, 60 ; money, 154 
banks, 180 seq. ; slavery, 201, 205, 206 
education, 223, 227, 228; religion, 238 
newspapers, 245 ; life and customs, 270 
seq. ; travel, 340. 

Soldiers, 154, 225, 352 ; and Sailor's Home, 
359. 

Sou, 167. 

Soul-drivers, 202. 

Soft Shells, 264. 

Southern Democrat, 266. 

Southgate, J. H., 268. 

Socialistic Labor party, 268. 

Somers, Mrs., 296. 

Solon, 366. 

South African Republic, 368. 

South Zanzibar, 369. 

Somali, 369. 

Soongaria, 370. 

South Borneo, 370. 

Soudan, 369. 

Spain, territory, 10; war with England, 
12; loaned money to United States, 
147 ; money of, in use in United States, 
166, 169, 170; slavery, 189 seq., 210; 
Cuba, 206; Florida, 290; Louisiana, 
291; claims in America, 290-292; gov- 
ernment, 369. 

Spottsylvania, 20. 

Specie, 154 seq.; Redemption Act, 160; 
bank, 176 seq., 181. 
2d 



Spirits, 150 565., 202. 

Springfield, 184. 

Sparta, 187, 366. 

Spaniards, 198. 

Spectator, 214, 272. 

Spelling-book, 222. 

Spinning, bees, 284; jenny, 296, 325; 
wheels, 296. 

Speaker, 119, 353 seq. 

Spice Islands, 370. 

Squaw, 34. 

Squatter sovereignty, 206, 266. 

St. Lawrence, 10. 

St. Louis, 227, 249, 268, 341, 346, 350. 

St. Valentine, 284. 

St. Nicholas, 284. 

St. Mary's Canal, 343. 

St. Helena, 369. 

St. Thomas, 378. 

Statesman, 272. 

Stretor, 267. 

Stamp Act, 10, 79, 80, 303 seq. 

Stephens, Alexander, 15, 251. 

States, right of, 15; courts, 100; secre- 
tary, 122; banks, 176 seq., 205, 225, 
352 seq.; superintendent, 358 seq.; 
Board of Education, 358 seq. 

Stars and Stripes, 103, 247. 

Statistics, Bureau of, 126. 

Students, West Point, 127 seq. ; Annapo- 
lis, 129. 

Steam, engineering, 128; vessels, 321 
seq. ; car, 336 seq., 340. 

Steel, 145, 337. 

Stock, bank, 176 seq., 317 seq. 

Stevens, 198; A. E., 323. 

Stowe, H. B., 207. 

Strict Constructionists, 260. 

Stalwarts, 267. 

Steve, 321. 

Stephenson, George, 330, 345 seq. 

Stockton, Captain, 330. 

Stereotype, 335. 

Storage battery, 336. 

Stage-coaches, 339. 

Statistician, 359. 

States-general, 373. 

Storthing, 374. 

Sunflower, 34. 

Superior Council, 57 seq. ; courts, 357. 

Suffrage, 73, 132 seq., 208, 370 seq. 

Supreme judges, 105, 106, 125; Court, 159, 
206. 347, 356, 368 seq. 

Superintendent, of finance, 126, 177; of 
census, 129; of education, 225; of 
Methodists in America, 234, 358 seq. 

Surgeon-general, 127, 286 seq. 



402 



INDEX. 



Sugar, 146. 

Suffolk bank, 159, 182 seq. 

Subtreasury, 159, 160. 

Subsidiary, 172. 

Surplus, 179. 

Sumner, Mr., 206. 

Surveying, 213, 360 seq. 

Supervisors, 223, 225. 

Sunday-school, 226, 235, 242. 

Survey, coast, 226, 227. 

Sun, Baltimore, 250; New York, 251. 

Submarine vessels, 322 seq. ; cable, 327. 

Sultan, 327, 369 seq. 

Suez Canal, 343. 

Subsidy, 346 seq. 

Suspension Bridge, 350. 

Suit, 363 seq. 

Sumatra, 370. 

Sweden, 69, 190, 371 seq. 

Swedes, 69, 215, 236, 330. 

Swearers, 231. 

Switzerland, 314, 370. 

Syndic, 52. 

Syriac, 218. 

Syria, 369. 

Tartary, 23. 

Taxes, taxpayers are freemen, 69; with- 
out representation, 80; tea tax, 81, 82; 
voting, 132, 133; indirect taxes, 139, 
152; direct tax, 44, 139, 150; income 
tax, 139, 151; internal tax, 146, 147, 
150, 152 ; peas, 153 ; tax on bank circu- 
lation, 186; on negroes, 191, 192, 195, 
209 ; school tax, 216, 223, 225, 358 ; on 
dogs, 298; mail, 300; travel, canal in 
New York, 342. 

Taney, Roger B., 112. 

Tariff, 139 seq., 264, 268. 

Taylor, President, 265, 324. 

Tammany, 267. 

Table, 272. 

Tasmania, 370. 

Teacher, 3, 4, 212 seq., 287. 

Tea, tax, 10, 81, 82, 143, 306. 

Territory, 10, 125, 150 seq., 288. 

Texas, secedes, 14 ; suffrage, 134 ; slavery, 
205,207,210; school fund, 224 ; schools, 
227; readmitted, 267; admitted, 290, 
291. 

Tennessee, secedes, 15; suffrage, 134; 
slavery, 207, 210 ; schools, 221, 223, 224, 
227; readmitted, 267; manufacturing, 
298. 

Test Oath, 158. 

Tenth, 168 ; Congress, 264. 

Tenants, 202. 



Text-books, 221, 222, 359. 

Telegraph, 326 seq. 

Telephone, 332 seq. 

Ten-cylinder press, 335. 

Teutons, 365. 

Thirteenth Congress, 118, 264; Amend- 
ment, 208. 

Thirty-fourth Congress, 118. 

Thirty-seventh Congress, 118. 

Third, assistant postmaster, 130 ; Reader, 
222 ; Congress, 262. 

Three-dollar piece, 173. 

Three-cent piece, 174. 

Thumb-screw, 200. 

Theaters, 202, 279. 

The Genius of Universal Emancipation, 
204. 

The Journal of the Times, 204. 

The Liberator, 204. 

Theology, 213, 218. 

Thirtietii Congress, 265. 

Thirty-tirst Congress, 265. 

Thirty-second Congress, 265. 

Thirty-third Congress, 265. 

Thirty-fourth Congress, 265. 

Thirty-fifth Congress, 265. 

Thirty-sixth Congress, 265. 

Thirty-seventh Congress, 266. 

Thirty-eighth Congress, 266. 

Thirty-ninth Congress, 266. 

Thacher, 287. 

Thrashing-machine, 331. 

Thorne, 335. 

Thames, 351. 

Theories, 365 seq. 

Ticonderoga, 10. 

Tillotson, 272. 

ri?nes, 247-250 ; Star,2il; Herald, 2i9. 

Tibuta, 315. 

Tippecanoe County, 357. 

Tlascalans, 26. 

Toltecs, 27. 

Tobacco, Indians, 34; nation, 44, 45; 
taxes, 146, 152; money, 153; paid as 
salaries, 231 ; produced, 270, 306. 

Towns, 74, 75, 77, 361 seq. 

Townshend, 80. 

Tories, 97, 258. 

Toleration, 232, 235 seq. 

Torpedo-boat, 322 seq. ; guns, 334. 

Treaties, 10, 89, 190, 199, 262, 289 seq. 

Trenton, 12. 

Treasury notes, 14, 122 ; Secretary of, 125, 
127 seq. ; notes, 159, 161 seq., 171 seq., 
262. 

Traitors, 36. 

Transportation Act, 83, 339 seq. 



INDEX. 



403 



Treasurer, 126 seq., 360 seq. 

Trinity, 132 seq. 

Trade dollar, 170 seq. 

Trepanuiug, 202. 

Tree of Liberty, 246. 

Tribune, 248, 251, 252. 

Transcript, 251. 

Transmitting machine, 326. 

Troop, 333. 

Trolley, canal-boat, 344, 348, 349. 

Tramway, 345 seq. 

Trustees, 358 seq. 

Traditional Theory, 366. 

Transvaal Republic, 368. 

Tripoli, 369. 

Trans Caucasia, 370. 

Turkey, 321, 369 seg.; in Asia, 369. 

Tully, 218. 

Tu;.'npike, 341 seq. 

Tunnels, 350. 

Tunis, 369. 

Turkestan, 369. 

Twenty-fifth Congress, 118, 265. 

Twenty-seventh Congress, 118, 265. 

Two and threepence, 116. 

Twenty-cent piece, 174. 

Two-cent piece, 174. 

Twelfth Congress, 264. 

Twentieth Congress, 264. 

Twenty-first Congress, 264. 

Twenty-second Congress, 264. 

Twenty-third Congress, 264. 

Twenty-fourth Congress, 264. 

Twenty-sixth Congress, 265. 

Twenty-eighth Congress, 265. 

Twenty-ninth Congress, 265. 

Tyler, 101, 120, 205. 

Type, 334 seq. 

Typesetting, 335 seq. 

Typewriter, 335. 

Umbrellas, 150 seq. 

Union, army of, 16, 17, 19, 20, 76, 78, 81, 
82, 85, 89, 91 seq. 

Unit, of government, 75 ; rule, 124. 

United Colonies of New England, 76. 

United States of America, 96 ; law. 111 ; 
courts, 112, 190, 226, 288 seq., 310. 

University of Scotland, 92, 122, 127; of 
Pennsylvania, 215, 221, 287; of New 
York, 224; of America, 226. 

Underground railroad, 204; roads, 349. 

" Uncle Tom's Cabin," 207. 

Uniformity Act, 230, 231. 

United Presbyterian Church, 241 ; Breth- 
ren, 241. 

Universalists, 241. 



Unitarian, 241. 

Union Labor Party, 267 ; Manufacturing 
Company, 298; Pacific Railway Com- 
pany, 347. 

Upper Peru, 376. 

Uruguay, 377. 

Utah, 116, 135. 

Vacancies, 122, 355 seq. 

Van Buren, 124, 125, 265. 

Valparaiso, 229, 348. 

Van Rensselaer, 275. 

Vaccination, 286. 

Vanderburg County, Ind., 357. 

Vermont, 133 seq., 204, 220, 221, 223, 261, 
264. 

Vellum, 150. 

Venus, 215. 

Veto, 264. 

Vessels, 322 seq. 

Vehicle, 336 seq. 

Venezuela, 377. 

Virginia, secedes, 15 ; Royal Province, 
57 ; government, 58-60, 75, 78 ; House of 
Burgesses, 58, 59, 75; opposed Eng- 
land, 79, 81 ; called a national conven- 
tion, 91 ; in the Federal Convention, 
92 seq.; ratified the Constitution, 101; 
suffrage, 132 ; taxes, 146 ; owed Con- 
gress, 149 ; survey, 153, 154, 156 ; slav- 
ery, 189, 190, 191 seq., 201, 202, 207 
education, 212, 213, 219, 221 ; religion 
231,232,238; newspapers, 245 ; "plan' 
of government, 258 ; resolutions, 263 
readmitted, 267; life, 276, 280; manu- 
factures, 294 seq.; farms, 306; crime 
and punishment, 317 seq. ; travels, 341, 
344. 

Vicksburg, 19. 

Villages, 74, 270. 

Vice-President, 114, 122, 226, 303 ; consul, 
256. 

Vincennes University, 224, 248. 

Vienna, 350. 

Vigo County, Ind., 357. 

Votan, 26. 

Voting, 133 seq., 352 seq. 

Vouchers, 150. 

War, Revolution, 9-13, 89; Civil War, 
14-21, 143, 150, 160, 161, 180, 205, 207, 
266, 334, 347; Indian Wars, 52, 53; 
Shays' Rebellion, 89; Department of, 
127, 128; War of 1812, 140, 153 ; cause 
of slavery, 187, 188 ; Crimean War, 211 ; 
French and Indian War, 287 ; Franco- 
German War, 333. 



404 



INDEX. 



Washington, at Boston, 11 ; at Trentou 
and Princeton, 11, 12 ; retreat, 11, 12 ; at 
Philadelphia, 12; at Germantown, 12; 
Chad's Ford, 12; at Monmouth, 12; 
administration, 13, 133; iu the House 
of Burgesses, 81 ; commander-in-chief, 
85; chairman of Federal Convention, 
91 ; greatness, 93, 131, 214, 272; elected 
President, 102, 123, 262; clipping of 
money, 1(57 ; chancellor of William and 
Mary's College, 213; newspapers of 
the city of, 250, 251; Federal party, 
259; inauguration, 2(52, 29G; franking 
privilege, 303; city of, improved by 
lottery, 311 ; telegraph line to city of, 
326, 327; travel, 340, 348. 

Wampanoags, 33. 

Wampum, 34, 153. 

Walloons, 64. 

Waite, Morrison R., 112. 

Ways and Means, 120. 

Watches, 150. 

Walker, 206. 

Warren, 246. 

Watterson, Henry, 249. 

Watson, Thomas, 268. 

Wall, 340. 

Wages, 308. 

Waterworks, 361. 

Welsh, 24. 

West India Company, Dutch, 64 ; Swe- 
dish, 69, 189, 192 565- 

West Jersey, 71, 78. 

West Point, 137 seq. 

Webster, Daniel, 131, 264; Noah, 222. 

Western states, 141. 

West Indies, 170, 206, 233. 

West Virginia, 224, 323. 

West, 227, 247. 

Wesleys, John and Charles, 232 seq. 

Weekly Eeheursal, 245 ; Advertiser, 246. 

Western Spy, 2iS; Censor, 2i8. 

Wet Quakers, 274. 

West Griqualand, 369. 

Whigs, opposed to union with England, 
84 ; party of Revolution, 97, 258 ; con- 
vention, 124, 327; for protection, 141, 
142; united to make Republican party, 
206; newspaper, 247, 249, 252; party, 
264, 265. 

Wheat, 141 seq., 153. 

White slaves, 191, 201. 



Whiskey, 140. 

Wheatley, Phillis, 197. 

Whitefield, 198, 232 se;?. 

Whitsuntide, 284. 

Whipping-post, 317 seq. 

Whitney, Eli, 324^ seq. 

Wheeling, 341. 

Williamsburg, Va., 18, 245, 281, 283 
300. 

Wilderness, 20. 

Witches, 36, 313 seq.; Hunters, 313. 

William and Mary, 61, 77, 92, 146, 189 
213 se^., 224. 

Winthrop, 68, 314. 

Williams, Roger, 68, 220, 235 seq. 

Witenagemot, 75. 

Wilson, 92 seq. 

Wisconsin, 106 seq., 134 seq., 224, 369. 

Wine, 147. 

Wild cat, 158. 

Wilmington, 209, 246. 

Williamstown Academy, 224. 

Wiley University, 227. 

Williams College, 242. 

Wife, 274. 

Widows, 303. 

William, Abigail, 316. 

Woman, Indian, 34, 35; Jesuit, 48-51 
suffrage, 134, 135, 267; negroes, 202 
Quakers, 237; colonial, 272, 273, 283 
witches, 314; reformatory, 359. 

Wool, UOseq., 294. 

World, Neio York, 251, 365 seq. 

Workman, 308, 309. 

World's Fair, 323. 

Writs of Assistance, 80. 

Wright, Mr., 327. 

Wyoming, 134. 

Xibalba, 26. 

Yale, College, 92, 213, 219 seq., 310; Elihu, 

220. 
Yards and docks, 128. 
Yearly meeting; 198. 
Yellow fever, 286. 
Yorktown, 13. 
Yucatan, 26. 

Zanzibar, 369. 
Zeni brothers, 25. 
Zululand, 369. 



